subject: How To Nurture A Happy Child [print this page] There is more to happiness than just having fun, although fun is certainly part of it. Happiness can be experienced on three different levels: physical pleasure, emotional satisfaction and personal achievement. If we want to know how to nurture a happy child we need to know how to teach them to create a good balance between these three aspects in order to create a sense of well being.
There are certain skills which we can foster in children in order to help them achieve this balance, these include:
Knowing how to enjoy the rush of pleasure our physical senses and skill can give us without becoming dependent on that rush.
Learning to enjoy and be confident with our skills and achievement without being dependent on the approval of others.
Learning to be open to love and being loved without the fear of being hurt or being unable to withstand rejection.
So how can you help your child develop a these skills?
1)Teach children that happiness goes beyond physical pleasure.
While our senses can create a wonderful rush of pleasure, which should be enjoyed to the fullest, we need to use a little caution. The rush can be addictive, giving rise to the need for more and more excitement/stimulation etc. in order to create the same level of satisfaction.
2)Create situations for children to enjoy personal achievement
Play is the natural way in which children experience and explore the world. They can totally lose themselves in it. They can set and achieve their own goals and enjoy the pleasure of it with minimal input from others.
Older children also need to enjoy their personal achievement in their own fields of interest. Everyone is good at something, sometimes we just need to help them find what that something is.
3)Help children develop healthy friendships
Human beings are generally very social creatures. We can gain much pleasure from the company of others. Learning good social skills and developing strong bonds goes a long way towards creating balance and happiness in our lives.
4)Encourage and build resilience
In order to nurture a happy child we need to teach resilience. Setbacks happen to everyone, big and small. Whether someone breaks our toy or our heart, the ability to bounce back is central to our ability to maintain a balance and create a joyful life.
Todays world is a busy, fast moving place. Time is a valuable commodity, but happiness is priceless.
