Humble- not proud: not thinking of yourself as better than other people We all know someone, and I’m sure your tween does too… who is amazing at something. It’s clear that they have talent or their gifted in a particular area. We all have strengths and weakness, but our attitude about them make all the difference!
So, ask your tween- hect ask yourself, how do you feel when someone is the opposite of humble? Meaning- full of themselves, bragging, praising their talent, maybe even putting others down to highlight their success. My opinion, it’s a real turn off and it makes me not want to be around them.
Yet, someone who has been taught to be humble responses with grace, good manners (like a simple thank you) and doesn’t want to keep all the attention on them or their achievement.
So much more desirable in a friend in my opinion 🙂
Perseverance- continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure or opposition.
It’s really hard… or I can’t do it, I just can’t- anyone ever hear these words? Whether it’s school work, sports, learning something new life can get hard! But, the power lies in our decision to persevere. If we are teaching our kids this from an early age, we help to ingrain this mindset for their future.
The sweetest of victories of course comes when you see their face or hear those words- I DID IT! The hard work, or frustration of past failed attempts become a memory in the past because they persevered.
Unconditional – not limited in any way: complete and absolute
You know how you just know some things throughout life? I think it’s important for our kids to understand and know the full meaning of unconditional love. Nothing they ever do will take away our love as their parents- that is a powerful statement. So although most of us know this, assigning the word unconditional gives them further depth on the gravity of our love.
I like to use this word when my daughter seems really upset about something she’s done, when I see she could benefit from a little reassurance… just because mom is angry about your choice- my love for you is unconditional and will never change!
Genuine-truly what something is said to be; authentic; sincere.
I think it’s so important for our babies (I know, I know- far from actual babies) to know that there’s only ONE of them. That’s the beauty in being your authentic self. In every way, be sincere and do what say you’re going to do. One of my biggest pet peeves is interacting with people who are superficial. If you really think about it, they’re usually just trying to be someone else… someone their not, and that will always show through.
Empathy-the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
This is how we are creating a generation that shares compassion, love and mercy. Teaching our kids to pretend they are in someone else’s shoes- feeling their emotions.
But this needs to start early and continue throughout tween and teen years. Altering the “self” first thinking and shifting the focus to how others feel and experience is a process. It doesn’t come natural for most, which is why we as parents need to take on this responsibility of teaching empathy 🙂
