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6 Things More Important Than Schoolwork Parents Should Teach Their Kids for Future Success and Wealth

Many parents focus heavily on academic achievement, unaware that there are more important qualities to consider.

20 April, 2024

Learning Beyond the Classroom

Have you encountered brilliant students who, despite their academic prowess, live ordinary lives or fail to achieve the success of their less academically gifted peers? Many parents believe that their children’s sole focus should be on academic excellence, with parents taking care of everything else. However, many academically successful youth struggle to adapt to society, sometimes even experiencing depression or burnout at work.

Children who lack social adaptability may possess impressive academic credentials yet remain financially disadvantaged. When one lacks adaptability skills, life’s obstacles, no matter how minor, can derail their life path. Therefore, forward-thinking parents prioritize not only academic achievement but also developing skills that optimize their children’s social adaptability.

When your child struggles academically, avoid excessive worry or criticism that can extinguish their potential strengths. Similarly, financial limitations should not lead to the assumption that your children cannot achieve success.

Understand that there are alternative paths to success for your children, and fostering the following six skills is crucial:

Six Golden Principles to Enhance Social Adaptability

Regardless of financial status, instill these six principles in your children, empowering them with a foundation stronger than any academic achievement. These virtues will make them more adaptable and successful in life.

Fostering a Robust Physicality Enhances Success Prospects

1. Physical Well-being

Success is elusive without good health, as a weakened body often leads to a decline in mental health. An individual with a fragile physique, prone to ailments, cannot attain ambitious career goals. How can one envision a future without optimal health? From this day forward, ensure your child engages in an hour of daily exercise. A healthy body serves as the cornerstone for all endeavors. Thus, it is imperative to guide your child towards a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise and a nutritious diet.

2. Optimistic Outlook

Optimism radiates positive energy, attracting others and inviting good fortune. Train your child to embrace an optimistic mindset, preventing them from succumbing to despair in the face of setbacks and self-sabotage when confronted with unpleasant situations.

Cultivating a child’s ability to thrive amidst adversity is paramount. Nurture a growth mindset from a young age, guiding them to perceive challenges with optimism.

Provide practical strategies for problem-solving and encourage them to tackle challenges independently.

A resilient child who “thrives on adversity” will not allow life’s hurdles to overshadow their path, let alone hinder their progress.

3. Resilience

While adversity is not inevitable, achieving success is far from easy. Many individuals succumb to hardships, readily abandoning their goals, sometimes right before reaching their destination. Therefore, instilling resilience, an understanding of the value of hard work, and the ability to endure hardships is an invaluable skill.

Life’s challenges shape and strengthen us. Children who are shielded from adversity are less likely to succeed. Thus, parents must expose their children to academic, physical, and intellectual challenges, ensuring they are equipped to withstand the trials and tribulations that life may throw their way.

4. Social Engagement

In today’s digital age, children live and socialize virtually, as though inhabiting ivory towers, disconnected from tangible social interactions. This can lead to social awkwardness when they venture into the real world, like battery-farmed chickens released into the wild. As such, it is essential for parents to encourage and facilitate their children’s participation in social activities, allowing them to build genuine connections. Expose your child to social situations aligned with their interests. Engage in volunteer activities together, and support their participation in activities they find enjoyable and fulfilling.

5. Independent Thinking

Professor William Deresiewicz of Yale University once described elite students at Ivy League institutions as “A-plus sheep.” This suggests that despite their intelligence and diligence, they blindly conform, lacking any semblance of critical thinking, rendering them ineffective when deprived of textbooks.

In contemporary society, where information is increasingly complex, independent thinking is essential for forming sound judgments and resisting manipulation or deception.

Fostering independent thinking in children involves:

– Providing encouragement and support
– Creating opportunities for autonomous learning
– Granting space for exploration and discovery
– Developing critical thinking skills
– Guiding children through problem-solving and decision-making processes
– Cultivating multi-dimensional thinking and innovation

6. Effective Communication

Communication is a crucial skill for connecting with others and achieving success.

Developing your child’s interpersonal skills is more important than their test scores. Parents must teach their children essential social skills for everyday life.

Impart the value of respecting others’ opinions and fostering empathy and listening skills.

Encourage children to articulate their thoughts and emotions, emphasizing clear, precise, and logical expression.

Consider life as an epic journey, like the Chinese classic “Journey to the West,” where one conquers demons and cultivates virtue and kindness.

Parents who adopt effective parenting techniques can pave the way for their children’s success.

Discover Your Child’s Talent and Develop a Plan

In the movie “Batman,” a line echoes: “When things go according to plan, no one gets hurt. Even when the plan is horrifying and evil.” Forward-looking parents with a plan can help their children excel, even if their financial resources are limited.

These parents do not solely rely on academic achievement, avoiding pressuring their children to endlessly study. Instead, they identify their children’s talents and nurture them, aligning their education with their unique abilities.

A professor shared the story of her daughter’s development in her commencement speech. The daughter struggled in mathematics, scoring a meager 15 out of 120 on a test. Instead of forcing her to cram for mathematics, the professor respected her daughter’s disinterest. She took her daughter traveling and encouraged her to explore music and her artistic talents.

Eventually, she discovered her daughter’s musical aptitude. Subsequently, she focused on honing her daughter’s skills in this area. Her daughter later gained admission to an arts college and became a music teacher.

I resonate with a similar analogy: a broken diamond may seem worthless, but when strung together on a thread to form a diamond bracelet, its value skyrockets.

Parents, abandon the chase for trends and the elusive “model child.” Learn to identify your child’s unique talents, develop a plan, and nurture their latent abilities to empower them with a sense of independence and stability throughout their lives.

Frequently asked questions

It’s important to avoid excessive worry or criticism when your child struggles academically. Instead, understand that there are alternative paths to success and focus on fostering crucial skills such as physical well-being, an optimistic outlook, resilience, social engagement, independent thinking, and effective communication. These skills will empower your child with a strong foundation and make them more adaptable in life.

Good physical health is the foundation for all endeavors. A weakened body can lead to a decline in mental health and hinder ambitious career goals. Encourage your child to engage in daily exercise and guide them towards a healthy lifestyle, including a nutritious diet, to enhance their overall well-being and increase their chances of success.

Train your child to embrace an optimistic mindset by helping them view challenges positively and preventing them from succumbing to despair or self-sabotage in the face of setbacks. Nurture a growth mindset from a young age and provide them with practical strategies for problem-solving. A resilient child who thrives on adversity will not let life’s hurdles hold them back.

Resilience is the ability to endure hardships and understand the value of hard work. It is a crucial skill as achieving success is rarely easy, and many individuals give up on their goals when faced with adversity. Expose your children to academic, physical, and intellectual challenges to build their resilience and ensure they are equipped to handle life’s trials and tribulations.

In today’s digital age, children often socialize virtually, leading to social awkwardness when they enter the real world. Parents should encourage their children to participate in social activities that align with their interests, allowing them to build genuine connections. Engage in volunteer activities together and support their involvement in enjoyable and fulfilling endeavors to enhance their social skills.

Independent thinking is crucial in a complex information landscape, enabling individuals to form their own judgments and resist manipulation. To foster independent thinking in children, provide encouragement and support, create opportunities for autonomous learning, allow space for exploration and discovery, develop critical thinking skills, guide them through problem-solving and decision-making, and cultivate multi-dimensional thinking and innovation.

Effective communication is essential for connecting with others and achieving success. Parents should focus on developing their children’s interpersonal skills and teaching them essential social skills for everyday life. Impart the value of respecting others’ opinions, foster empathy and listening skills, and encourage children to articulate their thoughts and emotions clearly and logically.

Instead of solely focusing on academic achievement, parents should identify their children’s unique talents and nurture them. Respect your child’s interests and encourage exploration. Discover their strengths and align their education with their abilities. By creating a plan that plays to their talents, you can set your child up for success, even with limited financial resources.