The value of patience and perseverance in early childhood.
These days, living in a world which is moving at a highly fast pace, one could say that patience and perseverance are some of those ‘rare’ traits. Yet, they are indeed very significant life skills, and the sooner children start learning about them, the better. For preschool children, patience can be described as learning to wait for things they want, and perseverance is keeping on with a task when it becomes hard. Learning these attributes while young lays the foundation for lifelong success.
Lessons in Daily Life: How to Teach These Skills throughout Daily Life.
The good news is that most parents use daily life to teach both patience and perseverance. Some examples will follow:
- Teaching is waiting for a turn: Either at the playground or playing with other friends, help your child to wait for a turn and let them know that everybody will get a turn.
- Solving Puzzles: Doing puzzles with them is a good way to explain perseverance. When it starts to get tough, encourage the child to continue, guide them, but let them find the solution themselves.
- Gardening: Growing plants teaches one patience and perseverance. Plants take time to grow; this reminds the child that good things take time and effort to actualize.
The moments are gold for everyday living because your child can learn to apply patience and perseverance in real-life situations.
Games and Activities: Fun Ways to Practise Patience and Perseverance.
Children learn more while playing, and there are so many such games that develop these traits in a very interactive way.
- Board Games: Playing board games teaches both patience and perseverance. Waiting for a turn helps children practise self-control while finishing the game-whether one wins or loses-encourages perseverance. Other games, such as “Snakes and Ladders,” teach that setbacks are part of life, but the goal is to move onward.
- Cooking Together: Baking or cooking requires the person to wait until the ingredients mix or the food bakes. It takes great patience, though the process itself encourages persistence since the completion of an entire recipe leads to a delicious result.
- Timed Activities: Design challenges for building or making something, allowing children to finish their work in a certain amount of time. This will help them stay focused and continue to do the work, even against the pressure of time.
Parental Guidance: Encouraging and Modelling Persistence.
Many times, children act out behaviours they witness among adults. You are very instrumental in teaching patience and persistence through modelling. Here are some ways you can guide them in this respect:
- Model Patience: Whenever there are delays and frustration, be calm and explain how you will handle the situation. This teaches children the value of patience as one grapples with stressful moments, important in early childhood education.
- Praise the Effort, Not Only Results: Praise your child not only when he accomplishes something but also when he puts the effort into it. Encourage him to try harder when things seem difficult, and remind him that everyone makes mistakes; that’s how we learn.
- Reflecting on the Behavior: After your child has completed a hard task, ask him how it feels to stick with it. Help your child appreciate the value of not giving up.
Instilling Life-Long Character Traits.
Patience and perseverance are two of the most important character features for a child to survive his or her lifetime.
At Podar Prep, we are committed to helping children develop these essential traits in a nurturing, interactive environment. To learn more about how we incorporate patience and perseverance into our learning philosophy, visit Podar Prep Official or explore Podar Prep. Ready to start your child’s journey? Enrol now!
