How To Raise Joyful Children

As we continue in our A to Z Parenting Tips – in this post we are focusing on how to raise children who are joyful. Let us start with parents, is your demeanour one of joy or do you plaster every trouble and worry on your face. We are the mirror image that our children emulate.  As the song says “Give me joy in my heart keep me praising”.

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Here are few tips to raise joyful children

LAUGHTER

Let your home always be filled with laughter. Make a sense of humour a daily affair. Make time to bond and laugh together as this will create a natural way of expressing joy for them. When your children are joyful people will not refer to them as “those grumpy children”. They need to know that laughter, joy and happiness is a part of life and that each of us is in charge of maintaining our own happiness. A family that laughs together is happier together.

PAYING ATTENTION

Listen to them and don’t get in habit of ‘shushing’ them up! Some Children can ask a million questions in a day. Geez! I know it can be tiring but it is because they have questions that their small minds pick up everywhere.

Do you remember the Pomo Rice advert with the million questions? where the child puts his hand in glass of water, and ask, “Why is the water so white? with his dad in the drivers seat, he asks “ why can’t I drive? On the way to school, he looks up to the sky and ask “Why is the sky so blue?” and with his mother bending down in front of him, adjusting his school uniform, he asked her sadly, “why don’t you go to school?” at seeing a pregnant woman at the mall, he shouts loudly “why is her stomach sooo big!. Hilarious!

Children ask questions because they are learning and building creativity. If you do not answer their questions, they will get the wrong answer elsewhere or worse you kill their sense of curiosity.

CHEERFULNESS

As a parent, always have a cheerful attitude. Find wonder in the everyday world around you and teach them about God. Being happy may be fleeting, but the joy of the Lord is your strength. Find a reason to be grateful no matter how bad the situation is.

SAYING THANK YOU

A family friend’s child came to our house the other day, I gave the child a gift, he just collected it and ran off, without a thank you! On the other hand I have seen a child walking with her mother on a rainy day, after getting a gift from her aunt she knelt down and said thank you, without care for the mud. Regardless, we should teach and encourage our children to say thank you for everything. Teach them to show gratitude.

POSITIVITY

When you build your life in a positive way, you attract more opportunities to experience good things and you will meet more people who radiate joy in their own lives. The best way to encourage the right characteristics in your child is not to force it. Instead, watch them as they interact and play, then pick out their peculiar traits and work with those. Most time parents try to force character on their kids and it has the reverse effect.

Celebrate every victory with them no matter how little. It makes them happy and they can put in more effort next time and achieve their dreams.

We need to understand that being joyful is not a training we can instil in our Children; joyfulness is a gift of God. We need to spread it!

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