Everyone would have once in his or her life said or heard that life is a better teacher. People who have played sports are better prepared for life! These are all sayings that have been around since time immemorial. Apart from the usual meaning, what they mean is that the hardships that one goes through prepare them for anything especially to accept failure, that has to come in the future. So, should you teach your kids to fail?
As parents, no matter how tall or mature our kids grow into, we always see them as that small bundle of cuteness. And like we protect a newborn baby, we protect our children throughout their lives. But then life happens, they face the world on their own, there are ups and then there are downs. And in between, they go through a lot of emotions. Though we do try to be with them all the time, practically we can’t, and that is why it is necessary to make kids realize that failure is as real as chocolate, accept your failure and work towards your success!
Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads to greater success. I’ve met people who don’t want to try for fear of failing.
J.K Rowling, Writer of Harry Potter
Let’s make it more realistic. It’s not an uncommon sight to see children of the same or similar age fight over a toy in public or their parents going to lengths to make sure that whatever they get, they get two. Without realizing much, we do create an unrealistic world for our children. And when the kids have their first setback, it hits them hard. Just think about it, excelling in studies is a great feat, but it’s not the end of the world. Children are going into depression at an early age because they didn’t get the required marks. Some just feel so sad and are nearly ready to give up their lives because they were not at the top of their class. What is all this? Just failure to cope with failure!
I hope, I have got you convinced by now. But hey! I don’t want you just hoping that your kids pray. There are always efficient and fun ways to teach children how to accept failure in life and get the lesson across.
Be the Sword and not the Shield
Our kids come crying or disappointed, and it’s our instinct to get defensive and make them feel protected. Well, that is a good attitude, but build in it a little growth thinking. Like I said in the first sentence, ‘life is a better teacher’, and the reason for that is, it forces you to analyze your failures, understand them, overcome them and then move forward. Those who don’t, well, never learn from life.
If your kid fails next time, comfort them, but don’t give them false hope. Talk to them and work it out with them. Ponder them about what they think could be the reason for the failure, and try to nudge them what possible solutions could there be. Tell them that failure is not a big thing, it is just a step back, and all they need to do is understand what went wrong and then make it right.
Thomas Edison Effect
Edison was made famous by the light bulb. But Edison did not invent it in the first test, and he tried 1000 times, and the last attempt was successful. To add fuel to the fire, a reporter asked how did it feel to fail 999 times. To which Edison replied, “I did not fail 999 times, I found 999 ways of how not to build a bulb!”
Make your kids understand that every failure is a stepping-stone to success. Every learning curve starts at a low point. Teach your kids to take failure as a learning lesson. Once they start understanding that every failure is another lesson, it won’t be a setback for them, they could just take it in a stride.
Failure is not as bad as we make it out to be. That doesn’t mean winning is! But as chocolates, failure is real, and one or the other, it does sneak up. If our children are prepared to accept failure in life, they will be able to take it in a stride. They would know a mistake from carelessness and learn to not do it again.
