Positive affirmations are great tools for your child to learn and develop throughout their growth. This practice comes with multiple benefits that will surely come in handy at all stages. These mantras will help your child to develop a positive sense of self, appreciate their worth, and build better relationships.
A lot of us overlook the powerful effects of simply investing a little bit of time in ourselves, which is why it is so important for us to pass down these tools for our children and kickstart their tools for success at a young age.
What is a Mantra?
Mantras can be many things. For kids, mantras can be influential words, slogans, sounds or even art activities that are repeated frequently on a daily basis. The most important part when deciding on a mantra is selecting an option which best suits your child’s needs.
In order to achieve the best results, it is imperative that you and your child identify personal weaknesses and insecurities that need improvement. For example, your child may feel insecure about a certain physical feature and may struggle with their sense of self-value, or they may have difficulties with interacting in social settings and may want to improve their ability to make friends. The healing benefits are endless once you select the best mantra for your needs!
How to Teach Affirmations to Children
Once decided upon, these affirmations give your children the opportunities to both explore their
inner creativity as well as provide the variations which means these practices are more likely to stick with them throughout their development. At the beginning of every week, find some time to sit with your child and encourage them to discuss both the highlights and strengths they are happy with, as well as the areas they feel need some improvement. Then, brainstorm a list of 3 words that your child will hold on to for the week and repeat whenever they feel they are in a situation that they initially felt needed some attention. Also, prompt them to repeat this mantra at both the beginning and end of each day for additional improvement.
Examples of influential words to use include: Strong, Resilient, Fearless, Courageous, Funny, Beautiful, Smart, and Valuable.
For your child, these sacred words will serve as a guide to leading your child to freeing themselves from their obstacles by reminding them of their importance and endless possibilities.
Taking a Visual Approach
We all learn in different ways, children are definitely no exception to this. For many, visualization is the best learning method. A great way to take a more artistic approach is by having your child make a vision board. To make a vision board, you will need the following:
- Construction paper/ Poster paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Markers
- Images chosen by your child
The purpose of a vision board is to fill it with both short and long-term goals. For example, your child may aspire to learn a new activity like riding a bike or playing a new musical instrument- these are the kind of images to paste onto their vision board.
Pro Tip: Prompt your child to hang their vision board in their room as a friendly reminder of their desired goals!
