Gavin McCormack writes brilliantly about the importance of us adults believing in our children’s ability to succeed.
The early years are the best opportunity for a child’s brain to develop the connections they need to be healthy, capable, successful adults. It’s during this time that adults must allow them to try new experiences. To fail and to succeed.
What may seem like work to an adult is clearly not for the child. Children love to have responsibility in the household and the classroom. They love to act like an adult. Therefore we must always make sure we are modelling ideal behaviour. Being kind, calm, gracious, fair, honest and empathetic are among my favourites.
The connections needed for many important, higher-level abilities like motivation, self-regulation, problem solving and communication are formed in these early years – or not formed.
It’s much harder for these essential brain connections to be formed later in life and therefore crucial, that we make sure that these experiences or essential skills are embedded into event curriculum and household in the world.
If we really want our children to be able to deal with a future unbeknown to us, then there is one thing that will never change and these are the skills of being human, and a good one at that.
