As the old saying goes, you can tell a person’s future by observing them at the age of three, and note their old age by looking at them at the age of seven. Some of the character traits witnessed in childhood are likely to have a lifelong impact. It can be said that this critical period in childhood is a necessary time to educate and instill many good behavioural habits and establish positive character traits.
The key to becoming a successful child requires not only good grades, but also possessing good character traits and established behavioral habits.
4 traits of successful children
1. Possess extraordinary creativity
Many of the children who grow up to be successful have been creative since childhood. Knowledge can be taught, but creativity cannot be taught. Knowledge is limited, but creativity is unlimited. Adults who retain their creative abilities throughout their lives tend to find it easier to grasp some of the entrepreneurial opportunities available in and beyond their workplaces. These individuals are usually found to play a unique role in any given environment.
2. Possess strong manual skills
An educator holds the opinion that a child’s wisdom lies in the tips of their fingers. Fostering good manual skills in children will help develop their willpower and independence. These skills are becoming increasingly difficult to find among children in today’s society. Strongly independent children are likely to grow up to be bold in their endeavors and assertive.
Parents are becoming more aware of the importance and the need to develop and cultivate manual dexterity skills in early childhood. Assigning children age-appropriate household chores will help them create a sense of responsibility and self-assurance in their capabilities. This will help them build independence, show initiative, and willingly share in doing household chores to help the parents. They will also be good lifelong learners, self-motivated, and less likely to be lazy, making them more likely to be appreciated in future employment.
3. Possess strong resilience when faced with life’s challenges
In modern society, due to the focus on test-based education, the holistic quality of children’s education has been neglected, resulting in many children struggling to cope with or overcome challenging setbacks. They struggle to cope with even the slightest disappointment in their lives.
Parents who wisely instill in their children a love for life and allow them to experience disappointments will also teach them practical strategies to build strong resilience when facing life’s challenges and pressure. These children will become adults who are adept at conflict resolution with others, maintain a calm and objective view of any given problem, and are be good at relieving their internal stresses. These qualities will be advantageous in their future career paths.
4. Possessing excellent communication and leadership skills
When we observe successful adults around us, we often find that they possess good communication and leadership skills. They frequently possess these two skills from childhood. In fact, during my school years, I noticed that some students were naturally gifted with these two skills. They seemed to be born leaders, gifted in socializing with others from a young age, and were very convincing as class leaders.
This ability to socialize and lead will often be a lifelong companion for them. As adults, whether they start their own business or work in a company, they will naturally be able to become leaders. During times when they encounter problems, there will always be old classmates or colleagues who are willing to lend a helping hand. Here are three bad habits detrimental to a child’s success.
3 bad habits that block success
1. Shifting the blame
Many children experience this problem at a young age, and most of them are often condemned by their elders. After making mistakes, many children start to shift the blame onto the adults, and they even go so far as to create well-organized stories. Some parents think that this is a sign of their children’s intelligence. These children are learning to shift the blame. Parents should prevent their children from forming this habit from an early age and teach them to take responsibility for their mistakes. This will avoid such problems escalating into “blaming others” when they grow up instead of correcting themselves.
2. Avoiding time management
Many children are reluctant to get up and delay going to school when they are young. This habit is often learned from their parents or caregivers. Therefore, adults should set a good example in terms of time management and avoid instilling bad habits that can influence their children. These may seem like small and insignificant problems, but if left uncorrected, they can have a significant impact on the child when they grow up.
3. Selfishness
Although mainland China has relaxed its two-child policy to a three-child policy, many families still have only one child, as they regard this as their ideal family unit. Parents have come to consider their child a treasure in the family and thus have come to pamper and spoil the child. This has resulted in the child becoming selfish and unwilling to share and help others. Consequently, this will lead to the child’s inability to handle interpersonal relationships as they interact with others.
It is essential to recognize that good and bad habits are established from a very early age. If the child has this kind of problem, they should be corrected promptly to avoid future issues. The past focus on a child’s educational ‘scores-only’ viewpoint will become a thing of the past, and parents of the future will need to focus on an integrated, holistic development of their children. The above four characteristics, although most of them are inborn qualities of some children, can also be cultivated by their parents, allowing their children to grow up well-balanced, independent, and self-assured.
Translated by Eva and edited by Maria
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