Today, many children and adolescents think that they should have immediately everything they ask their parents. They forget that to obtain everything, either a toy, permission to go out, or a new cell phone, it has to be as a result of their effort.

What do we mean?

If parents give everything to their children without making them “work” for what they want they will be raising dependent and useless children, who believe they have the right to receive everything for their own sake. “To teach them the value of deserving things, children must first learn about tolerance and persistence. This way they will understand that if they fulfill their duties or excel at school, they may have a benefit in return. You can start when children are three years old”, explains Antonella Galli, author of the book “Se Feliz” (Be Happy). The expert stresses that the awards to our children must be based on the achievement obtained. That is, you can’t give your children a play station if they ate all his lunch, right?

Schedule

Ms. Galli proposes to make a schedule with daily activities. For each task fulfilled by the child, according to his age, he will get a point and when he reaches a certain number of points he will be able to exchange them for some benefit (toy, an exit, etc.). Parents must agree with the rules to educate their children in harmony, especially if they want them to become a responsible, empathetic, and independent adult.

Lic. Antonella Galli
Psychologist at Clínica Ricardo Palma