Tag Archives: encouragement

How To Boost Your Kids’ Confidence

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How To Boost Your Kids’ Confidence

During the pandemic years, it was tough for little ones to learn social skills without being around other children their age. As we’ve moved past the COVID times and into the open world again, some of our kiddos might be shy and need a little confidence when starting school or engaging with other kids. This article will share some advice on how to boost your kids’ confidence:

Enroll Them In A Literacy Program:

Literacy programs can help kids improve their written and verbal communication and engage with other kids around them. Foundations like Scottish Rite have speech-language and literacy programs in California. The foundation provides fully-funded courses to help children overcome speech or language obstacles and become confident individuals who enjoy engaging with written and spoken language.

Teach Them Responsibility:

Giving kids a taste of manageable independence can help them become more resilient and able to complete tasks independently. Teaching your kids how to look after a garden can teach them a lot about responsibility, patience, and allow them to see their work rewarded as plants grow and flourish. You could also give them a small item of responsibility if they are younger, like selecting an activity for the weekend.

Set An Example:

Your children learn from you and how you interact with the world around you. Try to set a good example by being positive and engaging with other parents in a group setting. Let them see you try something new and enjoy the experience. Help them to persevere by ensuring they see you follow a task through to the end. Your kids will learn from your example if they see you happy and confident.

Help Them Get Comfortable With Failure:

Studies show that up to a third of the population could be considered perfectionists. Perfectionists often find it hard to handle failure and tend to over prepare for events so they can constantly meet high standards. It’s important to get kids comfortable trying new things without fearing failure. This will teach them to be well-rounded adults who can adapt and thrive in new environments. They will also learn essential life skills like resilience and problem-solving.

Get Them Engaged In Learning:

Getting kids engaged in learning is fundamental to giving them confidence in school. Try Learn Bright’s hands-on learning programs to give them a taste of real-life experiments that they can engage with and complete in groups or independently. Getting kids involved in hands-on learning is a great way to appeal to visual learners and help boost their confidence in a school environment.

Encourage Team Work:

You can encourage kids to work better together in groups at home. You can do everyday things like letting them plan a meal with you or playing collaborative board games together. Help them build their confidence by encouraging them to work with you and the family to get things done. When they have play dates, you can also get the kids involved in a team activity or encourage them to join an after-school club to engage with children of a similar age.

Praise Perseverance Over Results:

Praise your child for persevering through a hard task, not just for the results they get. Teaching them to keep going even when things get tough is important to raise resilient children. Remember, top marks aren’t always the goal. If your child struggles in math, going up from a C to a C+ can be a significant achievement. If they aren’t into sports, getting them to join a soccer club is something to be celebrated.

There are many ways to engage children through learning or playing and, in doing so, raise them into confident and well-rounded adults.

Featured Image By: Pexels

Going To Therapy Update

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Going To Therapy Update

Hello!!! Last month I announced that I was going to start therapy and I was really looking forward to it. I thought it would be most helpful after this extremely difficult past year to have a third party to talk to. Unfortunately, I did not care for the therapist that I was seeing after my second session. It just wasn’t a good match at all and that’s okay. Sometimes you have to shop around to find a therapist that works for you.

To be honest, I was kind of put off immediately during my first session with the person who I was seeing. The meeting was brief – barely over a half hour and I don’t think she fully listened to what it was that I wanted to get out of therapy. At twenty-nine years young, I know myself enough to know what it is I needed and that was simply someone to talk to and unload all of these pent up emotions. During our following session, it felt like the therapist wasn’t really getting it. Instead of hearing my saga, she assigned “homework” and offered solutions for statements that were beside the point.

It wasn’t that I minded hearing ways to overcome stress in the now, but I thought I made myself clear enough that the issue was, first and foremost, issues in the past. I felt really disappointed after our second session because I didn’t feel heard and that is the entire point of therapy!! I decided to cancel my upcoming appointment that was scheduled and didn’t plan on trying a different therapist out. However, the receptionist who I was speaking with encouraged me to give it one more chance with someone who might be a better match for me.

I begrudgingly accepted the new appointment for early next month and I am proud that I did. I also am very appreciative to the receptionist who nudged me forward in that direction. I told myself beforehand that I would wait a few months for another shot at therapy and I’m glad that I didn’t drag my feet. Now, I feel hopeful for my upcoming session and I know it will do me a world of good. What’s that old saying? If at first you don’t like your therapist, try, try a new one? Lol.

Although it is discouraging for a therapist to not be a good fit, it’s a normal thing. My initial instinct was to give up for now and that’s not going to help me one bit. If you are in a similar situation, try again! I am lucky that the receptionist said the same to me and this is me encouraging all of you! ❤

Did you have to shop around for a therapist that worked for you? Who do you like to talk to about your problems? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

So You Want To Be A Blogger?

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So You Want To Be A Blogger?

Hi!! If you would have told my twenty year old self that the blog I had just started would still be going strong for over six years, I would have been in stitches laughing. But, here I am now, over six years later with a following in over one hundred and ninety countries, islands, and provinces. Sometimes I still feel like I need to be pinched and woken up from this dream!

Whether you want to be an influencer or just have a page where you can share your thoughts, there is a lot of hard work that comes with the territory of blogging and that was just pre-coronavirus pandemic! I have the utmost respect for those who want to start a blog right now because COVID-19 has done my content creating no favors and I consider myself a seasoned blogger at this point.

If you want to be a blogger, it’s important to bear the following in mind. And, believe you me, I am constantly reminding myself of these tips:

Posting Often Is Important:

I have a lot of pride for my page because, within the first few months of my humble beginnings, I made the choice to dedicate myself to creating content to be posted daily. Fear not if writing a post every day seems like a daunting task, as every other day to every three days will suffice as you begin! Daily content gives your readers the chance to really get to know you and this is a beautiful thing because all of my followers feel like my dearest friends. Posting often gives your readers the opportunity to keep coming back and this will really help you build a strong base.

You Get As Much As You Give:

Writing gives me such great joy and it always has. This is why creating daily content has been a natural thing for me because I feel so happy every time I sit down at my laptop! Blogging is an amazing opportunity to share your truth, make new friends, and grow as a person and I was determined to have all of that when I started my page. I put my all into lifewithlilred every day and in return I feel appreciated, I have made best friends, and have grown exponentially. If you put your best effort into your page, good things will start coming your way even if it takes a while.

Don’t Be Afraid To Try Something New:

This may sound weird, but my blog keeps me motivated to try new things. Why? Because even if I don’t like it, I can still write about it! I would never say that I am a person who is opposed to change or new experiences but I am not the most spontaneous gal on the planet. My blog has helped spark a “Why not?” attitude that I used to have but got lost somewhere along the way. From cutting a rug with an elderly stranger on the dance floor during a family vacation to enrolling in community college despite not going right out of high school, my blog encourages me to take chances. Like I said, new experiences mean new content even if you end up hating it so it’s a total win/win. But, I have a feeling you’re going to love a lot of what you do dare to try! 🙂

One final thought when it comes to blogging is that it’s important to be kind to yourself. My page is dedicated to making people smile as they lose themselves in my own little world for a spell. Bad vibes are definitely not conducive to my goal of having a “feel good” page and this helps me get myself in check when I start to feel down. Writing is a labor of love and when you feel your best, it will come across in each post. ❤

Please don’t forget that if you ever want to guest blog on lifewithlilred, you can always email me at: sarah.mush6794@gmail.com . You can also friend me on Facebook at: Sarah Mushenheim to keep up with more of the latest and greatest from Lil Red!

How has your blog helped you? What motivates you to keep writing? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

A Letter To A Friend

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A Letter To A Friend

Hello all and happy Friday! I had a long day in Columbus yesterday for work but it was definitely worth it! Stay tuned for the Monday Update to hear more on that. ANYWAYS, If there’s one thing that Lil Red loves, it’s letting close friends borrow books from my extensive collection. What I love the most though, is when I find a book that I think one of my friends would respond really well to and personally give it to them with a hand written message explaining why the book reminded me of them. Recently a very dear friend of mine had to go away for a spell so I made a special care package just for her with books and of course, a letter. This very well may be one of my favorite things that I ever wrote, so I thought that I would share it with all of you. Take a look:

Hello, you. I brought you some of my favorite books and I hope you find as much comfort in their pages as I do. You’ll meet girls who are brave like Coraline and Liesel. You’ll come to fall in love with a boy who never grows up and a Little Prince from a planet far away from here. In The Little Prince, the fox teaches the little boy a lesson: “One sees clearly with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” Well, I see you so clearly in my heart and eyes, for that matter, and I think it’s important for you to know what I see.

I see a beautiful young woman who is working so hard to better herself and I admire you very much for it. G.K. Chesterton states that “fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten. You have a big obstacle to face during your time away but I trust that you will be able to beat it and come out victorious on the other end. Please treat my books with care because they hold some of my dearest friends but don’t be afraid to let them help you on the way. All my love, Sarah

I dunno, I kinda liked it! 😉 I always enjoy sharing my personal writings with my readers so I figured “why not”, especially because I like this letter a whole lot – and maybe it might just help one of you! I hope you’re all having a great day and I’ll talk to you all soon! Until then, what is your favorite book? What book inspires you when you need encouragement? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

PS: The books that I referenced in my letter were in order: Coraline, The Book Thief, Peter Pan, and The Little Prince – all of which are some of my favorites!