We all make mistakes. Making mistakes is a part of growing up; it is a part of life. It is through mistakes that we learn how to improve and get better at what we do. Sometimes, it can get hard to admit our mistakes but knowing that it is totally fine and ensuring that we work on them will help us turn into mature individuals.
As a part of the Parent Education Day program (PED) for classes 1 and 2, we at Presidency decided to talk to parents about mistakes and how we can rectify them. Being a parent is daunting. Our actions and decisions determine how our children are going to be. It is inevitable, thus, that we will make a few mistakes along the way. During PED, we discussed such common ones with the parents to provide them with some much-needed support. The agenda included the questions – why do children make mistakes? How can children learn from their mistakes? What is the right way to react to children’s mistakes?
The program started with a few important statistics that showed feedback that teachers took from students. For example – How would your parents react if you made calculation mistakes in math or if you made spelling mistakes? What would your parents say if you lost your book during exams? Some of the answers were real eye-openers!
After this, the parents were requested to jot down their most recent mistakes and the reason why the mistakes were committed. The coordinator explained, “As adults, some of our mistakes have deep impacts such as loss of time, money, energy, and most importantly confidence levels.” We all try to ensure that our kids are perfect all the time. By doing this, we only restrict them from trying new things and learning because they will always be too scared to fail.
“Failure is a stepping stone to success,” she quoted and used the great Albert Einstein as an example who couldn’t speak until he was 4 and couldn’t read until he was 7. Today, we all remember him as one of the biggest legends to have ever walked on earth.
Through the session, multiple parents opened up and shared their realizations. They shared that being upset about children’s behaviour and shouting at them is not the solution. Understanding the reason is more important.
To learn from a mistake, we need to recognize and accept our mistake and then see what triggered it. After that, we must look for solutions and apply the best. Being conscious is the key here.
The program ended with an interactive session of speaking about mistakes that children make, which annoy us. Shouting at our children when they lie or drop their food or break their toys will distance them from us. We must learn to apply positive reinforcement techniques instead.
We must work on turning mistakes into opportunities because each mistake teaches us something – it carries a lesson.
We hope that this was a very helpful lesson for all parents. We hope to keep conducting similar sessions regularly. We thank all parents who turned up and actively participated in the program.
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