Whenever people talk about children’s development, their conversations often revolve around the child’s report cards and test scores. While these are crucial development indicators, there’s more to their overall growth and development. Every parent instinctively knows that their child’s true success extends far beyond academic achievements, but they don’t openly talk about it as much as they talk about academic progress.
Hence, we at Delhi Public School Kangra, positioned among the top schools in Kangra, want to initiate meaningful conversations around this topic so parents fully realise that they aren’t only raising future scholars or employees but nurturing whole human beings who will navigate complex relationships, make countless ethical choices, and face inevitable setbacks. These conversations will shed light on the fact that children need more than textbook teaching to live a fulfilling and rewarding life.
If you are a parent who wants your kids to move through the world long after they’ve forgotten historical dates or algebra formulas learned in school, ensure you foster timeless life values that guide them throughout their lives for a happy and successful future. While you can inculcate values you deeply cherish, we recommend instilling the following values.
-
Empathy and Compassion
We at Delhi Public School Kangra very firmly believe that every human being should develop fluency in empathy and compassion, as these skills are at the heart of fulfilling human connections. Empathetic and compassionate individuals can effortlessly understand other peoples’ perspectives and feelings, transforming them from isolated individuals into connected humans.
While some academic skills may become outdated with time, empathy and compassion will continue to help your kids thrive in a world where meaningful relationships determine much of one’s happiness. Teaching these values to your kids enables them to look beneath the surface by identifying the emotions driving an individual’s behaviour. It can help your kids navigate relationship conflicts more easily and find greater fulfilment by nurturing authentic connections.
-
Resilience
If you ask us about a mandatory value that every parent must instil in their kids, we’d say resilience. It’s a non-negotiable in today’s world. Having said that, we have seen that many parents often choose to rush to remove obstacles from their children’s paths to ease their lives. However, trust us, it causes more damage than good by weakening the emotional muscles of children.
Parents who want their children to grow as responsible adults capable of navigating life’s challenges independently must teach them the art of rising after every fall. Whenever you see your kids facing a setback, such as scoring a poor grade, experiencing a friendship challenge, etc., resist intervening and solving the problem. Instead, acknowledge their feelings and express your confidence in their abilities to handle difficulty. You can also start celebrating effort over perfection, helping them reframe mistakes as valuable learning opportunities. You can also use other age-appropriate methods to nurture their resilience.
-
Integrity and Ethical Decision-Making
As parents, you cannot always be present to guide your kids in decision-making. Hence, it’s crucial to foster integrity and ethical decision-making so they always make the morally correct choice even when no one’s watching. At Delhi Public School Kangra, we believe children with strong moral foundations always make choices based on their values rather than convenience or peer pressure.
It may seem trivial, but ethical decision-making can alone save your kids from falling into numerous unpleasant situations in the future. Whether it’s refusing to normalise substance abuse or rejecting bad behaviour, integrity and ethical decision-making can prevent your kids from pursuing any wrong path.
While there are numerous ways to foster this value, you can start by modelling integrity and ethical decision-making. Whenever your kids make a poor choice, focus less on punishment and more on making things right.
-
Gratitude and Mindfulness
We’re unfortunately surrounded by an achievement-oriented culture, where children often get absorbed in the message that happiness always exists somewhere in the future, probably after the next accomplishment or success. Gratitude and mindfulness can counterbalance this perspective by anchoring them in appreciation for what already exists.
You can inculcate these values through simple practices, such as adding a ‘three good things’ conversation at the dinner table, making a family gratitude jar that collects moments of appreciation, or a moment of reflective attention before bedtime. You can pick any activity that helps your children notice the small pleasures in life.
Children with these values often grow into adults who find contentment not through constant striving but through presence and appreciation.
Conclusion
Raising children in today’s complex world isn’t easy. It demands balancing the seemingly contradictory priorities – academic achievement and emotional intelligence, technological fluency and human connection, individual success and compassionate citizenship. If you’re struggling to maintain this balance, focus on instilling the values discussed in this blog post.
At Delhi Public School Kangra, one of the top schools in Kangra, we believe these values cannot be inculcated through one-time lectures or textbook learning. They require thorough parental involvement. Hence, we would like to urge parents to take the lead and make dedicated efforts to nurture empathy, resilience, gratitude, and integrity in their children. These values can help your kids live a fulfilled and more rewarding life.