Why does it matter to celebrate a child’s success?

As parents, we all want what is best for our children, that is, to make sure that they are safe, healthy, thriving, and happy. Facing obstacles and challenges are part of growth and development for everybody. This is true for children as well. So when your children face challenges and overcome them with victory, be it big or small, such achievements prove that the child has been growing and developing in a healthy manner. This is one of the main reasons why celebrating successes is extremely essential in a growing child’s life.

At Sherwood High, we believe that celebrating children’s success is the best way to nourish their growth and development while also encouraging them to have positive behaviour. Therefore, we will explore the importance of celebrating a child’s success in this blog.

Importance of celebrating a child’s success:

As adults, we feel appreciated when we receive praise from our higher officials or colleagues. Something as simple as a celebratory dinner or congratulatory mail that acknowledges our efforts motivates us a great deal and our self-esteem grows with such appreciation. Similarly, to know that their parents support their efforts no matter how big or small, is important to a child’s self-esteem.

When we speak of building self-esteem, most of us would probably consider bigger achievements or milestones in a child’s life, such as winning a contest or championship. However, typical achievements such as getting good grades, acing a test, winning a goal, or even making it through a tough week are all achievements worth celebrating as a family.

Studies have shown that children are more likely to succeed in other aspects of their life when parents celebrate their successes. Something as simple as a hi-five or a hug shows the child that what they are doing is important. By celebrating their successes, you will make your child feel special, while also helping them learn the significance such accomplishments hold, no matter how big or small.

Apart from these, celebrating your children’s success shows your children that you are interested in their activities, which will also promote calm and confident behaviour with more vocal and open conversation between you and your child from an early age.

There are several benefits to celebrating children’s successes, apart from just making them feel good about themselves. When children feel supported and reassured by people who care for them, they will continue working hard towards their goals and will improve their overall performance. Listed below are some simple ways in which you can celebrate your child’s success.

1. Make time:

It is important to set aside a specific amount of time to celebrate your child’s smaller victories or bigger moments. As it may seem impossible for you to fit in celebrations in your hectic schedule, it is important to acknowledge an achievement as soon as possible, to avoid forgetting it completely.

By giving your full, undivided attention to your child, you show that you are vested in their interests and happy about their success.

2. Reward them:

Make sure you express how proud you are of them by rewarding your child right away when they achieve something. It can be anything from ice cream, extra treats, additional screen time, whatever that is that your child likes. Remember that giving rewards for every success, however big or small, will motivate your child to keep up the good behaviour and boost their confidence levels.

Both verbal and physical gestures can help you connect with your child and promote healthy relationships. Hugging them or patting their back, or verbal expressions such as saying “we are so proud of you”, “great job”, “way to go”, “what you do is amazing” and so on will show them that you care about what they do.

Though it gets slightly controversial, when it comes to giving physical rewards such as gifts or money to children, certain circumstances may allow it and show that hard work is celebrated. Some physical rewards can also help them in their future while also celebrating their current achievement, for example, depositing money in the bank for their further education as a reward for good grades.

3. Display achievements:

Making an effort to showcase how proud you are of their achievement is a way for them to feel that their achievement is worthy of being showcased. Displaying their artwork, picture, certificates, trophies, medals, et cetera on the wall or at any place that is visible to everybody will show your child that their achievements make you proud.

Looking at these frames, or awards every day will also make your child proud of their own accomplishments, which will, in turn, motivate them to keep doing better.

4. Share their achievements with others:

You can also show your children how proud you are of them, when you share your child’s success with others, such as; relatives, grandparents, friends, neighbors, other parents from school, your local community, and so on.

Though it is indeed the age of social media, and it is much commonplace to share children’s achievements on social media platforms, you need to first understand if your child would like to share their accomplishments and, if so, with whom.

Encouragement and appreciation from people is a good way to motivate children while acknowledging their achievements in a positive manner. This will also help the child understand that their positive behavior is rewarded with not only parental or familial appreciation, but with communal love and support as well.

Remember that when you celebrate your children’s success, you should not make other parents uncomfortable, so refrain from bragging or making your children or others feel awkward.

5. Remember to celebrate victory and effort:

We need to understand that our child cannot possibly win every single game or ace every single test, but as long as they are doing their level best, we should support and encourage them.

While celebrating every achievement is important, congratulating them on their efforts is one of the best ways to teach children the value of hard work and perseverance and that victories do not come easily.

So when you do not put all the emphasis on results and stress the importance of doing their best and doing things the right way, you are teaching them values and principles that will go a long way throughout their lives.

Summing up:

These simple ways with which you can celebrate and encourage your child’s achievements, illustrate that you are involved and attentive to your child’s activities and are appreciative of their growth and victories. 

From simple words of encouragement to displaying achievements, these are all very simple tools that you can use to instil healthy, positive memories and promote calm, confident behaviour traits in children.

They also help children develop good habits, increase their self-esteem, make them more optimistic, help them feel important, keep them motivated and goal-oriented in their lives. As it is when we as parents and caregivers acknowledge their hard work towards a goal, it becomes all the more meaningful and encouraging for the children to perceive and persevere in that goal.

We conclude with this beautiful quote by Barbara Coloroso: “Encouraging a child means that one or more of the following critical life messages are coming through, either by word or by action: I believe in you, I trust you, I know you can handle this, You are listened to, You are cared for, You are very important to me.”