Rainbows Within Reach

It’s so important to reinforce the positive in life, especially with young children. It concerns me that our society tends to focus on the negative. I often hear adults bark orders and/or putdowns to children. “Get over there and hang up your coat right now! Quit it- Knock it off! Don’t jump on that! You’re terrible- I can’t believe you did that – ugh! Why on earth would you think that was okay?!”Children are at a tender age and are LEARNING about the people and world around them. They’re bound to make mistakes! It is our job to support them during those mistakes and gently guide them through the learning process while building their skill level and self-esteem…even when we’re frustrated.

That brings me to another point- if we have appropriate expectations of children and understanding of the way they grasp the world, we won’t get frustrated so easily. Some parents get so angry when their toddler or preschooler dawdles in the morning. “I told her to HURRY UP! And she still doesn’t – Ugh! She’s such a dawdler!” Toddlers don’t yet understand time concepts so therefore wouldn’t understand their parent’s urgency. The parents would be more effective by getting down on the child’s level and saying, “We need to find your shoes so we can get in the car. Will you be my helper and find your other blue shoe? I wonder where it’s hiding…”

We can be a positive light in the life of children (and those around us) by “filling their emotional buckets.” We can model kindness and teach children to be kind to others. Check out Rainbows Within Reach’s post on this very topic!