How to Encourage Good Attitudes in Your Kids
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How to Encourage Good Attitudes in Your Kids
Kids don’t always have the best attitude towards homeschooling. However, there are a few simple techniques to encourage good attitudes in our kids.
1. Model a Good Attitude
Let’s be honest. We don’t always have the best attitude when it comes to working. I know I walk around the house moaning and groaning about cleaning the house. I mutter when it comes to creating endless meals to pour down the cavernous throats of my offspring.
However, if we want the kids to have a good attitude towards the homeschool, we must model a good attitude first. That means no checking email when we should be giving our first graders a phonics lesson.
Don’t leave math tests sitting for days ungraded on your desk. Grade papers in a timely manner and get your kids the feedback they need.
Be cheerful about homeschooling. Be diligent, and watch your good attitude be absorbed by your children.
2. For Good Attitudes Ensure Social Time
All work and no play makes children and adults rather dull. Children need time to relax and play. They need time to play tag and run around the park. Kids need friends. And no, formal activities don’t count.
How much time is available to relax and play with friends at ballet lessons? How much time do kids have to chat about their favorite book at soccer? Formal activities certainly have their time and place, but they don’t take the place of free time.
Kids need time to play and make friends.
3. Kids Will Be Moody
We all get up on the wrong side of the bed sometimes, and kids are no exception. There will be days your kids wake up moody, grumpy, and difficult to deal with.
As a parent and homeschool teacher, your job is to remain unaffected by their mood. Don’t let their grumping ruin your day. Don’t let the mood swings send you off the deep end.
Simply run through your daily routine as you normally would. Remain cheerful. Stay strong.
And if you need to, send your children to quiet time early so you can enjoy a relaxing cup of tea in peace and quiet.
4. Give Children Choices to Encourage Good Attitudes
Kids, like adults, need choices. I’m not telling you to let them choose to dance in the street or ride in cars without seatbelts.
No, give children age-appropriate choices. Choices such as what spelling book to use. In the case I’m thinking of, I found two excellent spelling books and couldn’t choose between them. So I let my child choose which book they’d prefer.
Let the kids decide what order to complete their subjects. Don’t sweat if your kindergartener chooses to complete their math worksheet in crayon instead of a pencil. Give your high school teenager some say over which literature books to read during the school year.
You’ll be surprised at the decisions your children make.
5. Laughter is Good for the Soul
It’s hard to maintain a dismal and dark attitude when everyone around you is laughing. So don’t make homeschooling a serious and painful affair.
Share jokes from books you’ve read. Have fun exchanging wordplay and puns around the house. Gently tease your children, even if it means you need to make exaggerated winks.
Keep your homeschool and house a place of laughter and fun, as well as diligence and work. You’ll be amazed at the difference in attitude!
I find the hardest part is learning to not let it affect me. Once it does, it ruins the whole school day. But if I can maintain a good attitude, things usually settle down and get back to normal.
It really is all about mom’s attitude when homeschooling!
That’s the hardest part. Not letting the kids attitudes affect me. If they’re horrid grumps, I’ve been known to send everyone back to bed for a ‘restart’. They read, relax, and have a few minutes to themselves. I sit down, enjoy a cup of coffee, and plan ways to deal with grumpy kids. The day usually improves after the restart. 🙂
I agree! I have a hard time bouncing back from dealing with a child that has a bad attitude. Thanks for the tips today, Sara!
I need to remember #2 – sometimes we get so scheduled with organized activities that when the kids ask if they can have a play date with [insert friend’s name here] I will respond with, “You just saw [friend] at practice last night!” or “You will see [friend]tomorrow at the game!” – thanks for the reminder that they need down time to just hang out together…
My kids actually requested that I not schedule any formal activities or classes as social time. They wanted free time to chat and relax with their friends. I must admit, having free social time every week has given me happier children in the long run. 🙂
“As a parent and homeschool teacher, your job is to remain unaffected by their mood. Don’t let their grumping ruin your day. Don’t let the mood swings send you off the deep end.”
This is my biggest struggle! I have a hard time dealing with all the negative emotions expressed by my kiddos without responding in kind!
It is so hard not the let kids emotions ruin your day, especially as they hit the mood swings of puberty. Sometimes I just start a silly song and dance. The preschoolers immediately cheer up, while the teens enjoy rolling their eyes at their crazy mom. Everyone ends up happier after a silly song and dance though. 🙂