Important Happiness Habits Every Parent Should Teach Their Child

Today the numbers of young people, especially teenagers are suffering from depression, issues like anxiety, game additions etc are increasing, day by day. What could be the cause of poor mental strength among teenagers that make them fall in traps like depression, anxieties? Definitely one of the prime causes is study pressure, highly competitive entrance exams, peer pressure etc.

According to Psychologist and Counsellor Shivani Misri Sadhoo, parents cannot always control the external factors that affect the child but the definitely can teach the child to learn important happiness habits that can help the child to develop emotional & mental strong and live blissfully in the advanced stages of their life.

1. Help Your Child to Learn Engagement: Does your child have a hobby that can get them completely immersed, like painting, music, dancing etc.? Is yes then help your child to grow and excel on those hobbies. If no then encourage your child to identify their hobby.

Music and sports are good starting points, but consider any activity that requires skill and provides increasing challenge, such as art, gardening, or carpentry. Be sure to keep making time to play too.

Teaching your child engagement means the child practices a hobby that helps him/her to develop two qualities—a sense of timelessness while doing the activity and the possibility for an increasing level of challenge to match the growing skills.

2. Help Your Child to Learn Meaning: Encourage your child to think about the world around them. Make sure they do not grow up with the idea that the whole universe means – their school, their friends and their studies and what is good and bad in life can be learned only from these places.

One of the best ways to teach your child meaning is by exposing them to people who are in old age homes & orphanages and to demonstrate by the parent the unconditional care and kindness to those people. Encourage your child to donate food, clothes & toys to the poor kids, feeding hungry stray dogs and animal.

3. Gratitude: Teach your child to be thoughtful and thankful to the privileges that they are getting in their life. BUT remember do not teach your child by telling them repeatedly. Instead, demonstrate them by practicing yourself at home.

For example, if you are at the dinner table, express your thanks to your wife every time cooks a wonderful dish, appreciate your wife’s hard work & care like – if she is cooking in a hot summer weather.

4. Daily exercise: Exercise should be a part of your and your children’s everyday routine but it does not have to involve a gym . For kids, exercise should be playing.  If kids are moving their bodies and getting a little sweaty, that also counts.