Don’t Let Kids Quit

When you encounter something that’s hard that you don’t want to do, it’s really easy to just throw up your hands and not do it. It’s much easier to give into the desire to quit than it is to push through something that’s hard and complete it. It’s extremely important to teach your children to not take the easy way out - don’t let them give up on something easily.

We discuss giving up all the time on this blog when it comes to health and fitness - as a parent it is just so much easier to give up and not do it. You have a pretty decent excuse not to do these things with kids. There is almost always a natural excuse to be had in this area of your life. Don’t give up though - if your kids see you pushing through the hard times, that may help them to be able to do the same when they need to.

Teaching your child how to be resilient and work through a tough situation or question is challenging. Younger children will often throw a tantrum rather than taking on the situation. It’s easier just to scream and cry than to face a challenge. You need to work through exactly what it is that’s tough with them and help them figure out how to overcome it.

Determine what the real issue is

The first step in helping kids to overcome controversy or wanting to give in is to help them determine what the real issue is. Why don’t they want to do something? Are they scared of failing? Do they want to do something else? Or do they simply not want to deal with the pressure? Ask questions to help them understand what the real problem is. Without questioning the issue, they may not be able to say what’s really causing their desire to quit.

As you work through figuring out what the problem is, make sure your children understand that this is something that they should always be doing. Teach your children to ask questions when they have a strong feeling or reaction to something. It’s important in life to understand what our feelings are and why we have them. We’ll be able to make much better decisions in life, and be able to overcome much more with more knowledge.

Create a plan

As you work through what the real issue is, start putting together a plan of how to overcome the issue. For big problems, put it down in writing so that your child has a plan to follow. The steps don’t have to be complicated. You can write very simple steps down that they will follow to overcome and work through the issue. For a younger child the steps may be extremely simple, but the goal is to teach them how to work through issues in the future so they don’t give up.

Having a plan to follow allows for overcoming an issue when it gets hard again - your child will have something to reference back to. Putting the plan in writing will help to cement those steps in your child’s mind as well, and you can help reference back to it for them as well. The plan can certainly be changed as you learn new things, but putting an initial plan in place allows for action in overcoming the obstacle.

Put the plan in action

The next step, and perhaps the hardest, is to put the plan into action. This is going to be up to your child to ultimately implement. You’ll be there to encourage them and remind them of the plan, but they have to complete it. When your child fails to do something that you discussed, don’t get mad at them. Instead, encourage them to get back up and try again. 

We all fail at times. Getting back up and trying again is what separates those who are successful versus those who are not. This is where your child will truly learn to become resilient when trying to achieve something. Help them to see where they might be able to do better and cheer them on when they overcome and don’t give up.

Conclusion

Help your child learn to not give up. Don’t let them quit easily. Teach them to find what the real issue is and put a plan in place to overcome the issue.