Learning perseverance is not always innate in children. Sure, there are kids that are internally driven and motivated to keep going with endurance. However, more often than not it takes great modeling and intentional methods of Teaching Kids The 3 P’s: Patience, Practice and Perseverance.
I hope you are familiar with my character development series and our week focusing on perseverance. I also have lessons that teach patience. These lessons can help equip you to coach kids in these skills.
Teaching Kids The 3 P’s: Patience, Practice and Perseverance
My kids like to be good at things right away, even if it is their first attempt.
I know this might be character trait within them. There are other kids that have an inner peace and a determined diligence to learn new things and make things work.
Children are all wired differently. I learned about the “happiness gene” when I read the book, “Brain Rules for Babies.” It’s fascinating. There are genes that contribute to a feeling of happiness and ones that contribute to depression.
In this book, author and brain specialist, John Medina, talks about that child that grows up in an awful situation and yet can overcome through happiness and perseverance.
Medical News Today says, “A huge study involving over 190 researchers in 140 research centers in 17 countries has located genetic variants associated with happiness and other traits.”
In a similar vein, some kids are wired for perseverance.
Some are not.
Learning to tie shoes, dress oneself or practice fine motor skills can quickly become dramatic for many kids. Frustration can be an immediate go-to response if we don’t steer our children well. Sometimes it takes simple phrases to instill in our children for them to learn certain character qualities.
For a while now, I have been emphasizing patience, practice and perseverance with my own kids. Having a catch phrase like this helps in engrain a message.
Whether learning to whistle, tie shoes, snap or get that hit perfectly right in baseball, this simple phrase – “Have patience, practice and perseverance” – can be a great go-to reminder for our kids that they don’t need to excel at something right away. The best and most gratifying successes come after deep investment.
A Forbes article was published about how grit is a greater indicator of future success rather than innate intelligence. “According to psychologist Angela Duckworth, the secret to outstanding achievement isn’t talent. Instead, it’s a special blend of persistence and passion that she calls ‘grit.'”
Patience, practice and perseverance can be all wrapped into that one word – grit.
I know it will take a special kind of grit to raise the children under our roof. Some take more grit than others. However, the investment you are making today will pay off. Teaching our children the 3 P’s of patience, practice and perseverance is just one piece of the puzzle.
Want More Lessons on Patience?
20 Ways to Teaching Patience to Kids
Want More Lessons on Perseverance?
