Thrivers

1. Self-confidence empowers children to thrive and reach their full potential

"Kids who understand, value, and apply their Core Assets are happier, and more resilient."

Core Assets are a child's strongest positive qualities, character traits, and signature talents that help them thrive. These assets can include personality features like friendliness or being a good listener, character traits like empathy or grit, or talents like music or original thinking. To nurture self-confidence:

• Identify your child's Core Assets by observing their:

  • Tenacity in tasks they enjoy
  • Attention and focus on specific activities
  • Learning speed in certain areas
  • Eagerness to participate without prompting
  • Need to engage in the activity as a confidence booster
  • Tone of excitement when discussing the asset

• Acknowledge and reinforce these strengths regularly

• Create opportunities for your child to develop and showcase their Core Assets

• Help your child set realistic goals that align with their strengths

2. Empathy fosters strong relationships and social-emotional intelligence

"Empathy is anything but soft and fluffy: it affects our kids' future health, wealth, authentic happiness, and relationship satisfaction, and it fosters resilience to overcome setbacks."

Empathy ABCs: Affective Empathy (sharing feelings), Behavioral Empathy (acting with compassion), and Cognitive Empathy (understanding others' perspectives). To cultivate empathy:

• Model empathetic behavior in your interactions with others
• Encourage face-to-face connections and limit screen time
• Teach active listening skills and perspective-taking
• Engage in volunteer activities as a family
• Discuss emotions and encourage your child to identify and express their feelings
• Read books that showcase diverse experiences and perspectives
• Practice role-playing to help children understand different viewpoints

3. Self-control is crucial for academic success and personal growth

"Self-control requires focusing abilities. When kids multitask, their academic performance and self-control are jeopardized."

Strengthen focus: Help children develop their ability to concentrate and manage distractions. To improve self-control:

• Establish clear routines and expectations
• Teach mindfulness techniques and deep breathing exercises
• Encourage regular physical activity and adequate sleep
• Limit multitasking and create distraction-free environments for important tasks
• Practice delayed gratification through games and activities
• Use visual aids like timers to help children manage their time
• Teach problem-solving strategies to handle challenging situations
• Model self-control in your own behavior

4. Integrity builds moral character and trustworthiness

"Integrity isn't made up of DNA (or a GPA) but of learned beliefs, capacities, attitudes, and skills that create a moral compass that children use to help them know what's right, care about what's right, and do what's right."

Moral awareness: Help children understand and value ethical behavior. To develop integrity:

• Discuss moral dilemmas and ethical scenarios with your child
• Establish clear family values and expectations
• Acknowledge and praise honest and ethical behavior
• Encourage your child to take responsibility for their actions
• Model integrity in your own behavior and decisions
• Teach children to stand up for what's right, even when it's difficult
• Engage in community service or volunteer work as a family
• Use stories and examples of moral courage to inspire your child

5. Curiosity drives learning, creativity, and problem-solving abilities

"Curiosity flourishes when people—regardless of age—collaborate and build on one another's work."

Foster a curious mindset: Encourage children to explore, question, and think critically about the world around them. To nurture curiosity:

• Ask open-ended questions and encourage your child to do the same
• Provide opportunities for hands-on exploration and experimentation
• Expose children to diverse experiences, cultures, and ideas
• Celebrate mistakes as learning opportunities
• Create a "wonder wall" or journal to capture questions and discoveries
• Engage in brainstorming sessions to generate creative solutions
• Encourage your child to pursue passion projects and hobbies
• Model curiosity by sharing your own learning experiences and interests

6. Perseverance helps children overcome challenges and achieve goals

"Growth mind-set kids tend to learn more, thrive on challenge, acquire deeper knowledge, and do better—especially in hard subjects—compared with equally able students who believe their intelligence is a fixed entity."

Develop a growth mindset: Teach children that abilities can be developed through effort, learning, and persistence. To foster perseverance:

• Praise effort and process rather than innate talent or intelligence
• Encourage children to embrace challenges as opportunities for growth
• Teach problem-solving strategies and goal-setting techniques
• Share stories of famous individuals who overcame obstacles
• Help children break down large tasks into manageable steps
• Celebrate progress and small victories along the way
• Encourage children to reflect on their learning experiences
• Model perseverance in your own life and share your experiences

7. Optimism cultivates resilience and a positive outlook on life

"Optimistic kids view challenges and obstacles as temporary and able to be overcome, and so they are more likely to succeed."

Positive thinking: Help children develop a more optimistic outlook on life and their abilities. To nurture optimism:

• Teach children to identify and challenge negative thoughts
• Encourage gratitude by keeping a gratitude journal or sharing daily appreciations
• Help children find the silver lining in difficult situations
• Model optimistic thinking in your own life
• Teach problem-solving skills to empower children to overcome obstacles
• Celebrate successes and learning experiences
• Encourage children to set realistic goals and visualize success
• Expose children to inspirational stories and role models
• Practice positive self-talk and affirmations

Last updated: October 10, 2024