How You Can Build Help Your Little One Build Their CharacterAs your child becomes more self-aware and their personality develops, you have the tricky task of tryingto mould their character, without crushing it. Here’s our advice on how to strike the right balance.

1. Cultivate a positive attitude

Even if you give your child everything they want and shower them with love and affection, they could stillbe unhappy if they don’t have a positive attitude. The best way to cultivate a positive attitude in yourchild is to be a good role model. Teach your child to look on the bright side of every situation. Instead ofcursing and swearing when it rains, say, “Look! It’s raining! Isn’t that wonderful? The pitter-patter of theraindrops sounds like a beautiful song. The birds can sing along to it as they splash around, enjoying theirbath.” With your positive energy spreading to your child, they will learn to face every situation with apositive attitude.

2. Let your child make their own decisions

Allow your child to start making some decisions, so that they feel in control of their life. At the same time,provide guidance on how to make decisions and explain the responsibility that comes with it. Instead ofsimply saying, “Let's go to the park!” you can ask, “Where do you want to go? How about the park? Theflowers are in full bloom now and it will be really pretty!”

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3. Develop your child’s interests

Find opportunities for your child to interact with different people and explore different activities. This willhelp your child develop their interests and hobbies, and cultivate good habits.

4. Teach your child to be brave

Children are often afraid of the unfamiliar because they don’t have confidence in themselves. One way todevelop their self-confidence is to increase their knowledge and skills. If your child is afraid of tryingsomething new, share your knowledge of the object or activity. Show them how it’s done and encourageyour child to interact with unfamiliar objects by touching and handling it.

5. Let your child be independent

Too much care and concern for your child may mean they don’t get to develop proper judgement.Instead of always coming to your child’s rescue, ignore them every now and then to give them theopportunity to tackle and resolve problems on their own. For example, if your child slips and falls,encourage them to pick themselves up and praise them for doing so. This teaches them not to be afraidthe next time they fall down, and they will know what to do the next time it happens. This is how yourchild will learn to make appropriate judgements, reduce his reliance on others and grow up to be anindependent and confident individual.

6. Be patient with your child

It is important for your child to learn in a stress-free environment. Do not force your child to do thingsthey don’t enjoy. Giving your child too much pressure might reduce their interest in learning, turn yourchild against you, or make them to retreat into a corner and become anti-social. It is important that youdon’t push your child too far too quickly. Let them learn to face up to problems progressively instead.Most importantly, remember that providing your child with emotional support is just as crucial as takingcare of their physical health. Give them your hugs, kisses and smiles, because these will leave animpression and impact the type of person your child will grow up to be.