How to encourage children

A few months ago, my younger son drew a piece of art and handed over to me. He said to me to send his drawing to the Young world to publish the same. I sometimes forget to do that. So he reminded me every now and then to complete the work. Finally one fine day, I sent the artwork through email and I almost forgot the same. Every week he used to check every edition of the young world. He was disappointed to see his art work not being published in the young world. A few weeks later, gradually he lost interest in doing art work and he completely quit the process. If I ask him to start anything new, he would give me hundred different excuses to escape from the request. 

Weeks passed, months passed and one fine day his school correspondent pinged me in WhatsApp indicating that his artwork has been published in the Young World. My son was excited to the core. He never thought it will be out in the world. It was like a miracle and a dream coming true for him. He asked me to show the newspaper to him. He was holding the newspaper and staring at his artwork for zillion seconds. He did not want to come out of the scene so soon. After few weeks, we could see another art work from him getting published in the Young World. This time he was really happy. No words to describe his ecstasy and the feeling. 

A couple of days later, I can see my son sitting on his study table and started doing artwork on his own. Nobody insisted him to do the work. The huge encouragement he got by seeing his name in the newspaper did all the trick. Every time he would like to see his name and his work in the magazine. It is quite natural for any human being and it is a good addiction. We often have so many dreams and goals for our children. However, if we can direct them to pursue in the right direction everything is achievable.

 Every goal of the parent is possible by channelizing their thoughts in the right manner. I don't mean to say we should force them to achieve something. They don't know what is good and what is not. For example, in my case, I was asking him to spend a little time in the art which was not happening for a long time until his work got published. I won't say I forced him towards the target. But there is a way to make them get there. Similar way we think that our children should be great readers, thinkers, and develop their creative analysis. These are great goals. Making them achievable is all in our hands. We need to figure out only the right way to get there. 

Messy Art

Summer holidays started. I hope all the mothers are going crazy just like me. How well can I engage my child is the question for every mother. No wonder it is the same with me too. Every year I enroll my child for a summer camp. They may either learn a new language or learn something in theater or public speaking. 

This year I decided not to enroll them in any of the classes. I thought to take a risk by keeping them at home. First few days went well.  Yesterday the younger one was getting bored. I told him to read few books, gave him few assignments in Maths and a 20 minute kindle time. Everything was over. "Amma, I am bored. Can I have some more time watching kindle"? I said, "No".  

He was getting bored. I suggested him to do art with crayons and pencils. It took a long time to convince him. After that, he was ready to do the art. I supplied with everything he asked. There was starting trouble in his face.  He said, "I am blank. I don't know what to do draw"?  Then he suddenly remembered something about Neil Armstrong. He drew few rockets and started coloring them with a black sketch. Soon he realized the coloring was not perfect. So he started whining once again.

He said, " I am not going to draw anything anymore.  It is not looking good".  Soon I soothed him saying, "When you mess up your art you will learn to do it right the next time. So doing a messy art is not wrong". He stopped crying immediately and was looking at me. 

That moment I wondered, if we fail to exhibit perfection, it is okay. That is the best way to excel in the next attempt, which doesn't mean the next one is going to be perfect, but a little better than last time. Sometimes when we try doing a new recipe, it may fall flat, but from that moment we can learn it better. When we learn a new technology or a new skill for a project, high chances are that we don't always get it right. But it is always better than not learning anything. From there, we can always move to the better way.  After learning to drive a car, the first drive is not going to be a gentle one. We may end up with little scratches. But it is okay.  From there, we can always move to the better way. 

It is okay to fall for the first time to learn anything better. So friends when you hit a bumpy road, tell yourself it is okay, from there, we can always move to the better way.