Annabelle Carter Short is a professional seamstress of more than 7 years. She’s very passionate about starting DIY business and selling handmade items and is very active in the crafting community. Annabelle is a mother who home schools her autistic son and likes making DIY projects with her kids.
As adults, we appreciate words of praise from our bosses, spouses and anyone else who cares to praise us. Accomplishments come after hard work and no one would hate a few words of appreciation. Children love to celebrate their accomplishments with their peers, siblings and parents.
It is our duty as parents, therefore, to ensure that our children feel appreciated for their efforts. There are plethora of achievements to celebrate from being accepted into a program, acing a test, creating great art and craft pieces and much more. Below are simple ways to show your children you appreciate their efforts.
1 . Praise them
The good old praise words work for children better than they work on adults; and they are really effective on adults. Words such as ‘well done’ good girl/boy’, wow words, ‘great stuff’ and so much more make a huge impact on your child’s morale. Besides words, you can use physical gestures such as high-5’s, thumbs up and hugs.
When children feel appreciated, they will be more motivated to do more and this makes them better at something. My son doesn’t like arithmetic, even the simplest of them all. Whenever he gets a question right on arithmetic, I usually praise him (without over-doing it of course) and hug him. Oftentimes, he will go back to do another question after the hug.
2. Display your child’s work
How many offices have you gone to and found a certificate, a badge or a trophy displayed in a glass cabinet? Not one or two I suppose. If as adults we love displaying out accomplishments, what about children?
When you display your child’s accomplishments and achievements, you show them that their accomplishments are worthy to be viewed. At home, you can use inexpensive plastic frames that you can use for rotating display of certificates, art pieces and much more. The kitchen refrigerator is a favorite spot for many parents. It is a place where every member of the family will always go. You can also invest in a small soft-board and nail it on one wall in your kitchen
3. Create a reward system for crafts and chores
Kids can create great art and craft pieces. They can end up making real treasures if they find the proper inspiration. One way to show them appreciation is to label their artwork with tags bearing their names. This way, the child can claim the art piece and it becomes it easier for them to show it off. Once the art pieces have been labeled, you can show them off to your friends and colleagues at work and make sure your child knows what you did. Many parents use reward motivational stickers. According to psychologists, a sticker chart is a fun way to help encourage and reward your children for good behavior and achievements at home.
You could even have a virtual party to celebrate as a reward.
4. Give physical rewards
Physical rewards should be rare; you cannot afford to have a physical reward every time your child accomplishes something. To children, even the smallest of accomplishments and achievements mean a lot. Occasionally, you can reward your children with physical gifts or even money. Good grades in college, for instance, can be rewarded with money; just enough for a good day out, not enough to ‘spoil’ the child for weeks.
Physical gifts and money come in handy when the child is celebrating their achievements with their peers. Appreciation is more effective when done immediately. As such, give the physical gifts immediately or within a few days after the accomplishment.
5. Give them a treat
I have a reward chart at home. It is just a simple tabulation of what is in store for my son when he achieves something he has been trying to. One of the things on my reward chart is a treat of their choice. In most cases, he will choose a movie, play in the park or a picnic. Sometimes he asks for sugary stuff with superhero pictures on them.
You can also let them choose a meal to be treated to; it works all the time; fries are not so bad once in a while.
There are many ways to celebrate
For the best results, you have to use a variety of the simple celebratory ways above. Just because you promised your son a treat doesn’t mean you cannot praise them or stick their artwork on the refrigerator. This way, the child feels appreciated all the time.
