We all want happy children don’t we? Do you think you know what contributes to a child’s happiness? I have a good idea of what makes a happy child – love, having people care about them, shelter, friends, no worries, having fun etc. But is this everything? I wonder does stuff – material goods – make children happy? I don’t think so. Material things last for a while (if you can, resist buying them things to compensate for the time you are not spending with them and don’t feel pressured to say ‘no’ because you might upset them). But if you went ahead and asked your children what makes them ‘really’ happy they would probably say spending time with you or being with their friends. The key to happy children is to create memories and have experiences that they can remember and share with their friends and family. We all like to create memories too, right? Nothing replaces memories so perhaps we should be rethinking how we parent and make sure that we do more things with our children that they can remember. Special times.
The Key To Happy Children Is Simple
Children are happy when they are safe, nurtured, are healthy, feel a sense of belonging to a parent or guardian and feel good about who they are and the world. They also feel happy when they are living in a fairly stress free environment.
How can parents contribute to a child’s happiness? Parents can help contribute to their children’s happiness by giving them the time they want from us so they feel that sense of stability and warmth. We can make sure their basic needs are met (food, shelter and clothes) and we can also help our children form good friendships and give them our time. We can try and keep the stress out of the home, listen and respect them and the best bit of all give them happy memories they won’t forget. What kind of memories are you creating with your children?
Image courtesy of photostock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
