| Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... |
Key Highlights
- A child’s environment deeply influences brain development. A nurturing, loving home fosters emotional stability, confidence, and resilience.
- Small habits like showing appreciation, allowing kids to own and fix their mistakes, and creating offline family time instill self-worth, accountability, and emotional intelligence.
- A positive, stable home doesn’t just feel good, it builds better brains. It equips children with the emotional tools to navigate life with confidence, empathy, and purpose.
A child who grows up in a loving environment tends to be happy, confident, and full of life. In contrast, a child who experiences trauma may struggle with low self-esteem, trust issues, and anxiety.
The environment in which children are raised profoundly impacts their brain development, shaping how they respond to personal experiences later in life. 90% of our brain develops by the age of 5, thus, a nurturing and positive home atmosphere is crucial, as it lays the foundation for a child’s overall well-being.
Kids cultivate a positive worldview and thrive in different areas of life when they grow up in a good space.
Why a positive space?
A healthy environment supports the growth, learning, and development of youngsters. It creates a sense of security and stability, promoting a healthy mindset.
Children who grow up in a family surrounded by love are more likely to develop resilience and a strong sense of self-worth. A positive home lays the foundation for healthy brain development. This encourages them towards healthy living.
What does an unhealthy environment do?
It snatches away the confidence of the kid. The kid ends up growing traumatized and falls prey to being hyperindependent.
Further down the line, this leads to anxiety and stress. The child will grow up with negative coping mechanisms towards handling situations. Growing up in a chaotic environment hinders the growth of relationships, which explains why making conscious efforts towards building a healthy environment is important.
5 simple methods to build a home where your kids thrive with energy
1. Showing appreciation
Kids are one of the best things that happen to you.
- Towards your partner: When children see their parents showing love and kindness to each other, they often replicate these behaviors. Many of us mirror our parents’ actions as we grow up. Therefore, it’s crucial for parents to be positive role models and demonstrate kindness in their interactions.
- Towards them: When our kids appreciate us, all the sacrifices we make feel worthwhile. The same goes the other way round: when children do something for us, it comes from a place of genuine intention. Showing gratitude towards your children not only acknowledges their efforts but also boosts their self-confidence.
2. Acknowledging their mistakes
We all make mistakes and these are humans whose brains have yet to develop fully.
- Normalizing the small mistakes: Instead of yelling at children, give them a chance to fix their mistakes. Acknowledging their faults makes them aware that things can go south in life.
- Hold them accountable for their flaws: Allow them to fix their mistakes. Ownership leads to creating stronger values. This helps them solve a challenge and build internal confidence.
3. Establishing family traditions
In this digital era, this is a great way to bring the family together.
- Make your children involved in festivities: As adults, we often take on the responsibility of making house arrangements while reserving the good time for the kids to enjoy. However, involving them in household chores helps them engage more fully and learn the values and traditions associated with their work.
- Cook a meal together: A meal that is loved by everyone and cooked by everyone. Creating a warm space for your children allows them to feel loved.
4. Creating an offline space
A study revealed that there is a significant prevalence rate of mobile phone usage (73.34%) among children in the age group of 6 months to 4 years.
- Make a digital-free zone in the house: No phones are allowed at the dining table. Everyone eats, talks, and shares how the day goes. This keeps the family connected.
- Create time blocks for phone usage: After two hours, they can engage in any activity that does not involve the phone. This prevents kids from being glued to their devices 24/7 and spending more time with their parents.
- Spending less time on the phone as parents: Kids imitate what they watch their parents do. When they see you spending lesser time on the phone, they would do the same and vice versa.
5. Teaching gratitude practice
When we appreciate what we have, we humble ourselves.
- Journaling: Children who practice being grateful grow up to be kinder and less stressed. They are happy with what they have and want to achieve more. Having a daily or weekly gratitude journal will help.
- Not being grateful leads to arrogance: When everything is served with a golden spoon, the child will grow up to be demanding and ungrateful. This will lead to a sense of entitlement and he/she will grow up to be adamant. Pamper them but do not spoil them.
On the ending note,
Creating a healthy environment for your children is an investment in their future. By taking these measures, parents can lay a strong foundation for their children’s growth.
A nurturing home fosters a positive mindset and instills values that will guide them throughout their lives. Remember, the effort you put into creating a loving and supportive atmosphere today will shape their well-being and success tomorrow.
