8 Guidelines for Developing Your Child’s Personality

The quote ‘Parents are a child’s first and most important teachers’ is absolutely true. During the initial years you are in complete charge of developing your child’s personality, even when they start attending school, your role in their personality development remains equally important. Hence utmost care must be taken to instill the right values in them.   

Here are a few guidelines you can follow while shaping your child’s personality:

1. Be a Role Model – Young children are very impressionable, every word and action they observe leaves an imprint on their mind and influences their future behaviour. As a parent you need to ensure that your actions reflect the good advice you give your child. For example when your child sees you being kind and considerate to the household help, they will also imitate you and be polite to them. So be their role model and lead by example.

2. Be Their Confidant – Always encourage your child to talk about the day’s events with you. Show interest in their ideas and opinions. When they face any problem, reassure them and help them find solutions. Knowing you are always there for them, gives them a sense of security which in turn helps develop their self-confidence and courage to face any issues.

3. Correct any Wrongdoing – Set clear rules on how you expect your child to behave both inside and outside the house. When they do a good deed without you having to tell them, appreciate them wholeheartedly. When they break the rules, calmly guiding them back onto the right path in contrast to shouting at them works so much better in making them realise and correct their wrongdoing. Self realisation you can help your child take responsibility for their actions.

4. Always Encourage Individuality – Some parents tend to point out the achievements of another child and berate their own child for not doing the same.  This creates a sense of inferiority in their child and also adversely affects the child’s relationship with other children. So it is imperative that you never compare your child with another.  Teach them that each child is unique, with their own talents and capabilities. This will not only give them a sense of confidence in their individual abilities but will also teach them to respect the uniqueness of other children.

5. Control Television and Social Media – Watching too much television exposes your child to various health risks like obesity, eyesight problems etc. Now the advent of social media has increased their health risks to a much greater extent. Excessive exposure to social media will also make your child moody and antisocial.  Therefore it is a good idea to restrict timings for their television and social media activities while encouraging them to go out more and mingle with other children.

6. Encourage Them to Explore the Arts – If your child has any inherent artistic talent, encourage them to develop it and, if possible, also enrol them in classes. Classes will give your child a creative outlet and help develop their social skills. They will learn how to interact with other children and work as a team to bring to life beautiful works of art.

7. Engage Them In Sports – Sports encourages teamwork in children, while keeping them fit and healthy. It’s a good idea to get your child interested in any form of sport, for in addition to health benefits, playing sports also has the following positive influences on your child:

• Teaches them the importance of sportsmanship
•  Helps instil self-confidence in children
• Teaches them to respect and follow rules and regulations
• Instills a sense of discipline and willingness to work hard

8. Involve them in Simple Household Chores – Get your child to help out with little things like helping you set the table for meals, fetching and carrying books and newspapers for their grandparents, putting away their toys and storybooks after use etc. Helping out gives your child a sense of responsibility and also makes them self-reliant.

Finally, it’s important to remember each child is unique. Individually tailor the above personality development guidelines in a way that will best suit your child. Also don’t get so caught up in guiding your child that you miss out on enjoying the fun aspects of their childhood. So go ahead and enjoy being a parent!