How to Motivate Your Child
"How can I better motivate my child?" Motivation can be tricky.
There is the carrot and stick method, "If you practice piano, I will give you extra time on the computer", and there is an internal motivation that no amount of resistance can hinder.
"Honey, you have been practicing that same piano piece for three hours, maybe you should take a break!" It's the kind of motivation that comes from the soul.
How do moms draw from the deep motivation well within every child? In our family, my husband studies characteristics of great coaches.
Take for example, Bill Belichick, head coach of New England Patriots.
One of the reasons he is so successful is because he has a success system that works and his players have bought into it.
For instance, though he may have a draft pick who is a superstar player, he will actually trade that player for someone who would be more likely to fit into his success system.
He is not afraid to lose a great player, if he thinks that person may deviate from his system.
Great coaches motivate their players to push themselves and work for the end game.
They can teach us moms something if we study some of their tricks.
Moms are considered the number one influencers in the lives of our children.
We teach our kids what Stephen Covey calls his habit #2 in 7 habits of highly effective people, 'To begin with the end in mind'.
Or perhaps you are familiar with the curriculum taught in many churches called, Growing Kids God's Way.
It trains parents to teach their kids "the moral reason why" we do what we do.
We must always get our kids to see beyond themselves, beyond the spelling words, the math drills, or the clothes to fold, to the greater good of the family, and to the benefits that await them if they work hard at the tasks before them.
"If you put your puzzle pieces back up, you will have it waiting for you when you want to play it again.
" Highly effective families foster interdependence, not just independence in their kids.
This means, we set up a workable system where we depend on each other and we coach our kids to see the benefits if we all work together.
John Maxwell calls it the law of the buy-in, in his book, 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.
Teaching our kids to "buy-in" to our family's success system.
Remember moms, you and your husband are leaders in your home - leading your children to success.
We can be harsh task-masters and win the battle, and lose their hearts in the end, or we can be constantly looking for new ways to shepherd their hearts, leading in love and with joy, and seek to motivate them internally - Unleashing an internal motivation that will build future world changers in every arena of society.
Some tips for moms to help motivate your child internally: 1.
Pay close attention to how they motivate themselves.
Watch them through the day and take notes on what triggers their excitement.
2.
Learn their natural talents and strengths when they are young, watch them in different settings.
Chances are, their natural talents will be a HUGE motivator for them because when they do it, they 'come alive'.
3.
Have your child write down their goal.
Let them tell you where they want to be in 12 months in any given area.
Write it down and post it on their wall.
4.
Parents should have their own goals (big and small) and model for their kids how to track progress.
For example, mom wants to shed some weight, so she keeps a food diary for 30 days to track what she eats.
Share your results with the kids.
5.
Teach your kids to write down their progress daily for short term goals, and to review long term goals monthly.
This is a powerful motivator.
6.
Find positive rewards for them and let them manage their own reward system.
7.
Teach them to use a timer and do something every day to work towards their goal.
8.
Celebrate BIG even small achievements!!
There is the carrot and stick method, "If you practice piano, I will give you extra time on the computer", and there is an internal motivation that no amount of resistance can hinder.
"Honey, you have been practicing that same piano piece for three hours, maybe you should take a break!" It's the kind of motivation that comes from the soul.
How do moms draw from the deep motivation well within every child? In our family, my husband studies characteristics of great coaches.
Take for example, Bill Belichick, head coach of New England Patriots.
One of the reasons he is so successful is because he has a success system that works and his players have bought into it.
For instance, though he may have a draft pick who is a superstar player, he will actually trade that player for someone who would be more likely to fit into his success system.
He is not afraid to lose a great player, if he thinks that person may deviate from his system.
Great coaches motivate their players to push themselves and work for the end game.
They can teach us moms something if we study some of their tricks.
Moms are considered the number one influencers in the lives of our children.
We teach our kids what Stephen Covey calls his habit #2 in 7 habits of highly effective people, 'To begin with the end in mind'.
Or perhaps you are familiar with the curriculum taught in many churches called, Growing Kids God's Way.
It trains parents to teach their kids "the moral reason why" we do what we do.
We must always get our kids to see beyond themselves, beyond the spelling words, the math drills, or the clothes to fold, to the greater good of the family, and to the benefits that await them if they work hard at the tasks before them.
"If you put your puzzle pieces back up, you will have it waiting for you when you want to play it again.
" Highly effective families foster interdependence, not just independence in their kids.
This means, we set up a workable system where we depend on each other and we coach our kids to see the benefits if we all work together.
John Maxwell calls it the law of the buy-in, in his book, 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.
Teaching our kids to "buy-in" to our family's success system.
Remember moms, you and your husband are leaders in your home - leading your children to success.
We can be harsh task-masters and win the battle, and lose their hearts in the end, or we can be constantly looking for new ways to shepherd their hearts, leading in love and with joy, and seek to motivate them internally - Unleashing an internal motivation that will build future world changers in every arena of society.
Some tips for moms to help motivate your child internally: 1.
Pay close attention to how they motivate themselves.
Watch them through the day and take notes on what triggers their excitement.
2.
Learn their natural talents and strengths when they are young, watch them in different settings.
Chances are, their natural talents will be a HUGE motivator for them because when they do it, they 'come alive'.
3.
Have your child write down their goal.
Let them tell you where they want to be in 12 months in any given area.
Write it down and post it on their wall.
4.
Parents should have their own goals (big and small) and model for their kids how to track progress.
For example, mom wants to shed some weight, so she keeps a food diary for 30 days to track what she eats.
Share your results with the kids.
5.
Teach your kids to write down their progress daily for short term goals, and to review long term goals monthly.
This is a powerful motivator.
6.
Find positive rewards for them and let them manage their own reward system.
7.
Teach them to use a timer and do something every day to work towards their goal.
8.
Celebrate BIG even small achievements!!
