How to Explain Success and Define Accomplishment to a Child

Success is something that even most adults find hard to define. Many consider success as having a big income, a final prize, and a family and career. However, in terms of explaining success to children, the word suddenly becomes the easiest thing to define, says Dr. Steve Silvestro. Defining what success means depends on who you're talking to; thus, if it's a child, success is being the best possible version of yourself.

Success varies as it doesn't have an exact definition; sometimes, it can appear as a measurable result, a tangible item, or a reward you got from the competition you joined. Success's standard definition is achieving something which makes you happy, making it a relative term. It could also be applied to life in general or even in individual tasks.

Family Education stated that a successful child only means applying skills to develop positive experiences. In that instance, children have a strong sense of self and look forward to obtaining and accomplishing goals in life or their studies.

Read Also: How Parental Involvement in Children's Homework Teaches Some Valuable Life Lessons?

Helping kids to attain success independently

Success appears essential in our lives as it gives us a good name and societal recognition. It can also make an individual more confident and happier in life and provides inner satisfaction as success means achieving something you desire and love doing.

Many parents wanted to see their kids grow up to attend prestigious schools, obtain high grades, and make money. This, for them, is a success, but according to American psychologist and author Madeline Levine, such goals are not the definition of success for kids. The author of "Teach Your Children Well: Parenting for Authentic Success" notes that parents need to encourage children to appreciate themselves more deeply so they can have their own definition of success, which parents should rely on as it is something that kids truly want, and bear in mind to support them no matter what.

For kids to define success in their own words, parents need to allow children to learn from their mistakes without interfering, as it will surely teach them many things and let them explore things independently.

Levine told Active for Life that at the end of every activity, kids need to figure out what they learned, and they can only realize such valuable lessons when parents ask them. Asking kids such questions gives them an internal vision that embraces the learning and their experiences.

Schools teach kids what they need to be successful

The research entitled "How Can Schools Fix the 'Mania' of Achievement Testing?" determines that educating children about perseverance and self-control can hugely impact their health as it also improves academic achievement and happiness in life.

Schools teach children the character or social and emotional learning that the study has proven effective. Schools also helped young ones set a moral agenda or their own goals in life depending on their own experiences and perspective, which Quartz reported starting to bring change in U.S. schools.

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