Parents can play an intentional role in enabling safe spaces for children at home. In this post, let us look at the two important channels that a parent can work upon, to enable psychological safety in their family ecosystem.
Appreciation
Encouraging your child and offering appreciation for their efforts will NOT ‘spoil’ them as it is commonly believed. It nurtures your child’s confidence and sense of self.
Here’s how you can appreciate in a healthy way:
- Praise the child’s effort as a sign of encouragement – “You tried very hard today to complete that task, well done! “
- Look for small changes and behaviours, and acknowledge them to your child.
- Do not exaggerate, instead offer words of appreciation around their strengths.
- Offer appreciation and feedback in a balanced way
Acceptance
Acceptance plays an important role in nurturing psychological safety. Sometimes when a parent feels that a child is making a mistake, it is their natural instinct to step in and correct them. But here are some reflective questions to ask yourself before trying to
- Do I feel that the child has to do it only in the way I want her/him to do this?
- Can I pause and observe first on how my child likes to do it?
- Does my child’s way of doing things show me something that I can understand about her/him?
These reflective questions can help you develop acceptance towards your child’s authentic nature. It will also give you the necessary knowledge on how to support your child with suggestions without interfering into their authentic self. The child also feels safe to express how they want to do things and ask for support when necessary.
To understand more about psychological safety at home and within family, stay tuned to my videos on my Instagram page:
Offering appreciation – https://www.instagram.com/p/CddR5s6pH-s/
Role of acceptance – https://www.instagram.com/p/CdViK2YpIl_/