Teaching failures – Let kids succeed from failures

Let them stumble, let them taste failure to be Successful

As parents or caretakers, we ensure a complete boundary of protection for our kids. A little fall & we are there to pick them up. When in the garden with bunch of kids, we are there to help our child stand out in every scenario amongst other kids. If a child cries his heart out, we tend to give him what he wants or desires. We try to please our kid in every possible manner that we can. We try not to make them walk in the sun, preferring AC cars always. Little sweat & we feel our kids are in an “inebriated” conditions. We’re always in a mode to praise heavily & applaud every time kid does any activity. We always try to shield out kids from “Failures”.

Aren’t we 80% closer to what I have mentioned? Be true & answer to yourself :).

Throwback – We as children ?

failures make u strong
failed attempt

Did we or our parents grew with so much over-protection around us? Didn’t we grew up in joint family & got least attention from parents? We grew up with our siblings and neighbour kids not as “highly pampered” kids but as “rough & tough kids”. We used to walk long stretches bearing the scorching sun. Did we get applauds for every activity we did? It was all “That’s Ok” & we as children didn’t even thought it as necessary. 

I remember playing in mud & making lovely castles out of it. I used to fall numerous times & never saw someone coming to pick me up every time I fell. Rather it was a play of falling, getting up & starting all that once again. I never saw my parents clapping if I finished my food completely (I had to do it as a task). They didn’t prompt me to not gel with the colony child 1 or 2, yet I was a pampered child.

And the Present….

But it doesn’t seems to be so with “Parenting” today. A fall & you hear cries of child. Parents getting panicked to pamper their little bundle of joy. I’ve seen some of the parents not even allowing their children to play in the mud or with other children in the park with the reason of getting “dirty & not so healthy community”.

Is that the right approach towards Parenting? I agree that scenarios have changed a lot & so has the methodology to raise kids. We need to be protective for our kids for sure but not “Over protective”. We need to make them learn to “Fall” & “Rise” up again rather than shielding them from falling altogether. A bad experience in pool in our lives should not deter initiation of kids swimming at all. An experience gave us the learning to be cautious & not paranoid and this is to be passed.

Firmness, Courage & Elasticity towards any situation of life are built in via encountering failures & having the spunk to triumph against failures. And, this has to be built in right from now, when kids have started exploring their social surroundings. Confronting various failures (of their age) & not perishing to them is what builds “Resilience”.

Something ignited in me…

Broken & bruised
Broken & bruised

“A case prompted me to write this message, which I had in my mind for so long. Back in the US, one of my friend had an unnerving experience when her 7year old behaved tragically upon losing a competition in Skating. He used to be a winner in his sport & was untouched by failures. He just knew the pleasures of winning but that one “Lost” match took a toll over that kid. It was upto such an intensity that he kept himself locked in his room for more than 2hours all alone.

Imagine how every second would have passed for those parents? They finally had to get the door broken off to see their son’s ruined face. A match lost devastated him from within. He was filled up with so much antagonism that they had to take him for counselling. Her mother quit her job to be 24X7 with her son. What was the reason? Very simple… That kid never cried..He never failed..All his demands were met with one go..He never knew what “No” or “Failing” in life meant. Whose fault was it? It was definitely not of that child but certainly of the parents. They mistook what “Positive Parenting” means. For them seeing their baby smiling for his every desire was the best parenting”.

Your thoughts?

What do you think of this incidence? Do you, as a parent, think that there will be no heart breaks for your kid in his life? No parents, your kid however you may protect, will have heart breaks. Be it from a relationship or from a career he loves or in the sport he is set into or even from losing his loved one forever. Each one of us had those heart breaks in our lives as well. What matters is acceptance towards it and the strength to be back again with a new aim & goal to achieve. A heart break cannot put a full stop in your kids life.

Let them get into the idea of failing & succeeding, right early in the life. Helping them to overturn the obstacles is a learning that needs to be inculcated. No theory books will teach that. It is a very must “practical learning”.

Every successful entrepreneur has made his journey via these failures. A success doesn’t teach you but a failure teaches you how to be successful. The more you fall, the more you learn for bigger outcome from life.

Steps you can take to help your kid encounter failures & stand strongly making his path:

  1. Let your baby fall & get up himself. Don’t rush to pick & pamper them up.
  2. When amidst bunch of kids, don’t try to be a counsellor for your kid. Let him make his own space. He might be secluded by other kids once or twice. You might see him bruising over, but let it be. In few minutes you’ll see all this was a past
  3. Kids are kids. They might get some comments from their friends in school or play area. Do prompt them to share such happenings but again don’t be an attorney. Guide them & let them figure out ways to move ahead of these petty issues
  4. Play match with your kid, football or badminton or any sport. Usually parents are bound to lose matches for the sake of their children be happy. Don’t do that always. Your kid will never reach his true potential then. Let him struggle hard to attain a victory & then why not rejoice it together?
  5. Applause him for once but not Always for any task taken up. Consistent cheers will make your kid habitual of ovations. If he doesn’t receives it later in life from you or in society, he’ll slowly get demotivated & fall into depression. That’s very true moms & dads. Strike a perfect balance. Don’t make a path for him to go into depression later when his social life expands.

Create situations :

If the path goes too rosy for your kid, you’ll have to put some “not so pricky thorns”. You should create circumstances challenging for him. Let your kid compete with some seniors in competitive sports he love. Let him lose the matches. That will make him more aware of gaining extra skills & confidence to win over others. Try letting your kid earn 10% of his monthly pocket money himself. Try making your kid raise funds for some charity from your neighbours. They’ll understand the pain of dealing with “No” & will not break in future when surrounded with multiple “No”.

Believe me, every “No” will be a learning for your kid. They will understand by their own how to deal with things & turn out to be responsible risk taking adults. This will set them onto the path of what we call “successful leaders”.

Feel to have some examples to prove?

Why do I need to quote example of Einstein? Why not let me quote the example of a “Mitti man”, a normal villager from a small village near Rajkot, who couldn’t even face his in-laws due to his poor earnings & ample failures. The man who broke his start when “Earthquake” hit him. He found innovation amidst that natures fury. He went on to invent award winning, Forbes featured  Mitticool fridge”, dedicated to people who cannot afford the bigger ones.

I’am sure this one Indian rural story will be enough to make you aware of the fact that “Failures rise people”. Never let a failure fail you. Never let hardship break you. Those should be the moments to come out more firmly & fight back again. And yes, to have such powers, there needs to be an early start, an early learning.

And, that is “Positive Parenting” ! Enjoy the tumultuous ride with your Kid!

Jhilmil

Quest to live the life surrounded with the charming little bundle's of joy. When they speak, I sing, When they smile, I rejoice , When they hug, I hold them never to lose, Such is my passion for these Gifts of God.This love urged me to navigate separately from my Travel Blog & establish an "All-In-One" Blog for budding mothers. Mum's have multi-tasked this world ,with all her professional commitments , she still makes an extra effort to be a loving, caring and be an intellectual mommy! Cheers, for me too come from the same fraternity, post having a superb academics & close to 8 years of professional experience and blessed with a little one "who has indeed changed my life from Autumn to Spring";)

This Post Has 40 Comments

  1. Rank My Hub

    Failure is important, that is how, we learn to do things correctly. We have to guide kids to learn to face failures and success a like. Putting them in too much of comfort zone is not so good. So little guidance and teaching is fine, as long as it does not hinder their development and getting strong to face the society.

    1. Jhilmil

      That’s really true to say! But that is saddening when I see todays preschoolers in their comfort zones 24X7. This prompted me to share this story! Thanks for the support towards positive parenting! If you liked this post, shower some love on our page/FB:)

  2. So true for the classroom setting too. I feel like it’s natural for us adults to want to step in and fix whatever problem is happening – whether that be for a lesson being taught OR a problem being solved on the playground. But it’s amazing what can happen when we step back and let kids deal with things on their own.

  3. freemindtree

    Nice suggestions Jhilmil. I agree that a child should not be overprotected by parents because if this happens, the child starts to live in the shadow of his parents and his true development remains stunted!

  4. Breena Blake

    Great post! It’s hard as a parent to not help my baby boy up after a fall but I know I have to. I have to give him the chance to help himself because I could be doing him a disservice but taking that change away from him.

  5. Holly Spoonley

    There is a major lack of parenting. I think parents need to be more concerned with focusing on the children.

  6. Moipone Islam

    I am that mommy who to shield my daughter from all the aches and pains and failures. But sometimes I think she is too soft. Awesome post.

  7. jessica

    I think this is great advice! it’s important to let kids be kids and enjoy life.

  8. Elena

    I am still not a parent but I have a nephew and I am so overprotecting at times. I know that I am not helping him but I try to change myself and my behaviour and be tough on him at times, but it is so hard.

    1. Jhilmil

      Hey, that’s the love which overpowers, but yes we have to be practical for their better futures:) All the best!

  9. Preeti Chauhan

    I too am a strong advocate of this policy though it is really tough seeing your kid stumble and fall but sometimes it’s the best thing you can do to make them learn .

  10. luna

    Allowing them to fail is important, so long as they have your encouragement to get up and try again.

    1. Jhilmil

      True, they have to begin with things they love.. failing there will get them motivated to stand up again!

  11. akyn30

    I always have that feeling to help him whenever he stumbles or fall from playing. I’m glad I can control myself to hug him and pick him up every time. I am learning to teach him the value of independence as well as to myself, I am learning to control being an overprotective Mom. I’m glad I came across with your post

    1. Jhilmil

      wow that’s so great to know your teachings:) Kudos to moms like you!

  12. elizabethcolette

    These are great tips.. kids need to learn to fail, so they can learn from their mistakes. I’m trying to do a better job and letting them learn.

  13. roxyturtle

    I’m with you, letting children fail is very important. We all need to know that failure is OK, that it is bound to happen at some point and that life does continue afterwards (and gets better!). If you never let a child fall they will never know how to get back up.

    1. Jhilmil

      So true of your words! Thanks you came & read it:)

  14. Mamabops

    Thanks for sharing your perspective. I always enjoy hearing how other parents handle situations so I can decide what will work best for my family!

  15. coffee with Addison

    The teacher side of me completely agrees. The mama side of me thinks that it is not that much different than we grew up. I do see parents giving their children space to learn and explore and *gasp* make mistakes. I think we are already learning that the “perfect parent” model of social media doesn’t work.

    1. Jhilmil

      That’s correct, but frankly speaking, I’am seeing so many parents these days who have forgotten the practical ways & just over protect their kids. It’s for them:)

  16. royaltyinreality

    I don’t have children yet, but I am a babysitter so I’ve gotten to observe a lot of parents. As you mentioned, I’ve noticed the children that are allowed to fail (and recover on their own) tend to fare better in the long run.

    1. Jhilmil

      Thanks, that’s so true. Let’s take these words to as many parents as we know!

  17. Alok Vats

    Awesome post, gave me some lessons which I can apply on myself now.

    1. Jhilmil

      Ha ha!we’ll its we who learn from u:)

  18. Tina

    Making mistakes is important that’s how you learn in life.

  19. asoulwindow

    Failure is important in life. I had failed so many times while I was growing up. I now understand that it was all important. Thankfully, my parents never put any pressure on me.

  20. Sarmistha Goswami

    Very good post for all parents! Success and failure are an integral part of every person’s life and sooner a kid is taught about this, the less unhappy he will be in the long run. Thanks for sharing.
    Do drop by my blog as well : http://styleovercoffee.com 🙂

  21. This is such. great post. As a teacher of young children, I’m all about letting them learn for themselves and teaching them that failure is ok, we can try again. It’s so important to let them figure things out for themselves. Nikki x

    http://www.thoselittlemoments.net

  22. Shake Them Beauty

    Our children are not our babies forever. We would always protect them but on only some extent. We cant alwys be there for them forever.

  23. Cassandra Rose

    This is such a beautiful lesson that I think both kids and adults can benefit from. I always try to get my students to see why failing at something isn’t the end of the world and how it makes you a much stronger person. If you never failed, you wouldn’t be as motivated to try harder or tackle a problem from a different angle.

  24. Nice post. Kids are kids. Let them have fun and learn from their mistakes. But be there as their guide to support them.

  25. Parenthood sounds really hard! It’s amazing that now a days parents have so many resources and ways to share 🙂

  26. Aditi

    Not only do I agree with your point of letting kids learn from their failures, but am also going to take on a more active hands-off approach in 2018. Let them choose their direction!

  27. A truly nice one this. As they say failure is the stepping stone of success. We as parents want our kids to succeed always and never see failure. But thats not life is it? Its about getting up again and getting things done all over and over again! Failure does teach lessons of life! Perseverance for one!

  28. Niekartistiek

    If you’ve never faced a problem in your life, you’ll never be able to truly take care of yourself. It is indeed important not to make mistakes so once in a while, and to fix it yourself. How else are you going to grow as a person? If we wouldn’t be let to make mistakes, we would never learn from them. Great article!

  29. Yes there are always failures in life and the sooner we learn how to cope with them the better. It is essential in life and relationships.

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