Hearing my daughter laugh is absolutely the most magical sound in the world to me. Seeing her eyes get all squished up and her eight little teeth shine as the glee spills out of her just makes my day… nay… my week. As her mommy, I take every opportunity to tickle, toss, and tumble every smile I can squeeze out of her. At dinner tonight, we laughed over me showing her that it is impossible to lick one’s own elbow. She didn’t get it (she’s only 16 months), but the silliness of the whole situation had us both cracking up. 
This really got me thinking about how important it is to not only insert joy into each day, but what the fundamentals are of instilling optimism into each circumstance. In the book, Raising an Optimistic Child by Bob Murray and Alicia Fortinberry, they state “During the past few decades academics have heatedly debated whether the prime determinant of optimism, pessimism, and depression is nature or nurture, or more recently a combination. The elements that enable us to be optimistic and experience authentic life-long happiness, true friendships and fulfillment are largely set in place by age six.” Whoah. Considering how quickly the first year and a half has almost gone by, we are cruising toward a third of the way there already! So what are some ways a parent can institute an optimistic approach to life in our children?
Think as I think. No surprise here…Our kids are sponges. Not only do they mimic how we act, they absorb the emotional reactions we have to our environment. We have to learn to think as optimists so we respond as optimists so our kids reflect our optimism.
There is a connection between thoughts and feelings. We can teach our children that feelings can be directed by the thoughts we have. If we think positively, we will feel positive. Verbalize thoughts to show the relation to the feeling of the moment.
“Thought Catching.” Here is a game that can be played all day long! Children learn that when they have a negative moment, they can “catch” the thought that is associated with it and give it a positive twist.
Evaluate Auto-Thoughts. When children experience failure, they may automatically think that failure applies to more than just that situation. For example, if they get a bad grade, they may think “I’m not as smart as the other kids” or “I am so dumb.” We can show our children that these thoughts are generally not accurate.
Turn Neg’s into Pos’s. In a situation like the one above, give kids examples of how they’ve succeeded in the past. Remind them to keep the situation in perspective, and know that a bad grade is not indicative of a poor learner. Show them how to build the negative into an opportunity to succeed.
Source: brainy-child.com/article/optimistic-child.html
Image Source: www.flickr.com/photos/chrissuderman/248873190
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