Life is the best teacher.
It gives you a variety of experiences and opportunities to explore and see for yourself what you’re capable of.
It highlight your strengths and weaknesses, brings to fore your hidden capabilities and exposes the glaring faults.
All this is a great way to learn and reconstruct yourself into a better person.
But how willing are you to go through this process?
As the years pile on, a certain rigidity sets in restricting you from making any kind of alteration to your personality.
You’re not open to anything rocking your boat and causing discomfort.
That’s why it’s essential to allow children to go through the different experiences to learn and grow. Children are a lot more tougher, resilient and open to changes.
It’s natural to feel uneasy letting the kids face struggles. But you’re there for them, they’re learning under your care.
Don’t bubble wrap them because you’re scared of them getting hurt. It hampers their growth as a person.
6 Lessons Learned Through Experience
1. Failing at a School Competition
School is the first exposure to the world beyond the home. It’s a microcosm of the real world they’ll eventually inhabit.
Encourage them to take part in various events and competitions just for the experience of it.
Don’t put the pressure of coming back home with a shiny medal. Remember, you’re a parent not a magpie.
Such events or competitions teach them to prepare and focus.
They teach them about coping with competition, about managing their emotions like disappointments and anger.
You can step in to motivate and encourage them; teach them to reflect and handle this setback.
This experience is an exercise to build their inner strength, develop a positive mindset.
2. Resolving Conflicts with Friends
They say the day you’ve a second child, you transform into a referee, arbitrator, judge, policeman, and all that.
Imagine a scene from the park. There’re bound to be frictions, big and small. Someone doesn’t want to share the swing or won’t let the others use the sand pit.
No point spewing fire at the other kid for fighting with your child or interfering or wanting to resolve the dispute.
Let them figure it out. They’ve to learn to fight their own battles. I mean, running home crying is not the solution clearly.
Teach the children the skill of communicating clearly. Teach them to deal with disagreements, navigate the challenges, how to reflect and act when somebody’s angry or hurt.
And most importantly, teach them empathy. They will learn to see the other person’s perspective.
3. Adapting to a New Environment
Coping with changes is another thing they’ve to be taught about.
I know my kids complain sometimes that they feel like nomads, changing homes and schools every two or three years.
And then there’re others who have never been outside their neighbourhood or city.
And they’re all together in the classroom, interacting with one another.
Use stories from each other to build curiosity and connection.
Prepare children for changes – new teacher, new classroom, new house, new friends, new school, or anything else. Talk to them about the new place they’ll be moving to.
When they’re prepared for the changes, they feel more confident and sure about the future. And children are anyways more open to accepting these changes. They’ll be less overwhelmed with the change.
4. Taking Responsibility for a Mistake
Making mistakes teaches them about responsibility and accountability.
And they’ll make mistakes when they’re allowed to explore and experiment.
Give them the task. Maybe something like packing their own school bags. Make them responsible for it. Let them figure out how to do it.
They may forget taking a book or their pencil case. It’s okay. Guide them but let them do it themselves.
After repeatedly making the mistake, they will learn to be more careful, learn about taking responsibility and not blaming the parents for not packing the bag properly.
Talk to them about accountability and how they’ve to accept their mistakes, and not make excuses.
They can’t live their lives blaming others for their shortcomings and mistakes.
This is important as it builds their sense of integrity and their personal growth
5. Taking on a Leadership Role
When working with other children, they learn to cooperate and coordinate. Maybe even develop leadership qualities.
Allow it to happen naturally instead of asking them to be given leadership roles.
Leadership is a lot more than just getting a badge. By allowing children to grow on their own, you can help them discover their dormant talents.
Some children are natural leaders, while others are team players. There’s a difference. Explain this difference to them; it’s not one and the same.
When they’re made a group leader, children will learn to work together, motivate others, delegate responsibilities and work, and focus on the end result.
6. Trying a New Hobby or Sport
They’ve seen their friends going for some activities and they want to do that. Allow them the opportunities to explore and experiment with various hobbies and sports.
It’s just a part of the process of learning about themselves, what’re their interests, what do they like doing.
Again, don’t expect them to excel at each activity or win medals at every sport.
The process itself will teach them about being consistent, disciplined and resilient. It will require them to be determined and motivated.
This will help them to learn the value of hard work, commitment and practice.
Why Experiences Are More Impactful than Instructions
These are some of the reason why experiences are better teachers.
Children develop a tangible understanding about the skills than you’re teaching them in theory.
Their experiences leave a deeper impact on them and they can relate to it more meaningfully.
By being engaged in the learning process (though they don’t realise it that is one), they appreciate the lessons better than just passively absorbing the information.
Every experience reveals to the child something about themselves. Their unexplored and dormant skills get acknowledged. This helps with personal growth.
Final Wrap Up
Watching your child or student learn new things is immensely satisfying.
Provide them opportunities to challenge themselves and grow into a person you hoped they would become.
Experience teaches them –
- Become emotionally resilient
- Boosts self-awareness
- Become good with problem-solving
- Are adaptable and accommodating
- Build stronger and deeper relationships
- Open to lifelong learning
Of course you‘ve to ensure their safety and create a secure environment for them to thrive in. But that doesn’t mean getting them to live inside a sanitised environment.
Every challenge your child faces is an opportunity for them to grow stronger, wiser, and more self-aware. Let experiences be their ultimate guide.
