Perseverance

Perseverance is a huge word with huge potential to help our children succeed.  Teaching perseverance to children is difficult especially when you are a single mom. In most cases, your words will fall on deaf ears because their attention is elsewhere.  And as they mature, their ears are more attuned to the advice of their peers.  They may look respectful by keeping their eyes on you (and may appear to be attentively listening) as you lecture them, but do not be deceived; their thoughts are elsewhere.

However as a single mom, you must do everything in your capacity to nurture you children to become the best that they can be.  Teaching them to be persistent is one of the best ways to help them become successful.

Probably one of the world’s most admired speeches was the one given by Winston Churchill to the graduating students of Oxford University. This speech is most remembered because of its brevity and impact. The speech was very concise and it left the students dumbfounded. Its brevity left the students thinking deeper into its meaning and the richness of its content. Winston Churchill went up the rostrum amidst the cheering crowd, cleared his throat and in a strong, firm voice shouted “Never give up!” He paused for a few seconds studying the anticipating crowd, then shouted again “Never give up!” He then stepped down from the rostrum satisfied that he was able to impart to the graduating students the message they needed to succeed. If Winston Churchill did not develop a connection with these graduating students, do you think his three-word speech would have made an impact?

Nurturing your children to become the best that they can be requires connecting with them.  Connecting with your children starts from their young age.  That means you need to invest in time.  Spend time with them nurturing them to persevere in life.

Spend time with them explaining the meaning of perseverance; that perseverance means not giving up but hanging on. Say for instance that you are persevering in teaching them. That no matter how long it takes or how many repetitions it takes, you will not give up on them. Practice what you preach; model it. Before you begin a task, make sure that your child overhears you say “I will succeed”, “I will persevere”. Example is the best teacher.

When they work hard to accomplish say a lesson, point out that that is perseverance. Help them  to focus on their goal.  They may fail, say in a school examination, but encourage them to keep studying their lessons.  In fact, help them in their lesson.  Teach them that they need to persevere to get good grades, finish their education to have a good job or a good business.

Increase your child’s positive phrases – “I can do it!”, “I’ll try again”, “I won’t quit”, “I will manage”, “I will not give up”, “I will overcome”. Encouragement and motivation is just like taking a bath. You need to encourage and motivate your child daily to help him persevere.

Make sure that your family’s motto is “Try and try until you succeed”. Remind them that winners never quit; quitters do not win.

Make sure that your kids are growing in an environment of persistence. Persistence will help you nurture your children to be the best that they can be.