OUR VALLEY SANTA CLARITA
EDUCATION
Dr . Karla Arriaran-Rodriguez
A L I T T L E G O E S A L O N G W A Y
We currently live in a world where competition is a significant part of our kid ’ s every day experience . That ’ s kind of the nature of our society . We are consistently encouraging our kids to get the grades , make the team , get involved , volunteer , etc . These are all great things … don ’ t get me wrong , but it ’ s also important to focus on the progress . We have to think about progress and not perfection .
Although we have to support our kids to get to the finish line and meet their goals , we also have to be aware of and respect the progress . This is going to look different for every child . What may be attainable for one person may take a little more effort for another . It is important for our kids to feel supported along the way as well as recognized for their effort .
Words of encouragement for little successes go a long way . For example , a child that is working on mastering 100 sight words at the elementary school level may feel discouraged when they don ’ t quite get there ; but if they are acknowledged for getting one or two more words correct than they did last week , that is a little success ! It ’ s celebrating the small victories along the way to the finish line .
A similar example may be the high school student that is trying to win the Track meet but , again , not quite there . Maybe the focus could be shaving a few seconds from their previous time . They are always comparing themselves to their peers but if we encourage them to focus on improving themselves , they are made aware that we are celebrating their personal efforts and successes .
As parents and caregivers , the more we model acknowledging and celebrating the little successes , the more capable our kids are going to become in doing it themselves . We have to teach the lessons of perseverance and always setting high expectations for our kids to thrive , but we also have to teach them that it ’ s OK to make mistakes and not always be number one . That teaches them persistence and grit . It ’ s a fine line , but we have to find the balance … for our kid ’ s benefit , their well-being and their sanity .
Dr . Karla
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