Every parent wants their child to grow up happy, healthy, and successful, but setting your child up for future success isn’t always as straightforward as it seems. Unfortunately, there’s no manual when it comes to parenting, so knowing whether you’re making the right decisions can be a constant worry. There are, however, plenty of advice and tips to help you get things right. If you want to ensure your child is on the ‘right path’, take a look at these five ways to set them up for future success:

Engage with Babies Throughout the Day

Babies begin learning virtually as soon as they’re born, and engaging with them will ensure they absorb as much information as possible from their environment. From responding to ‘baby talk’ to reading to your newborn, every time you engage with your baby, you’re helping them understand the world around them. 

What’s more – hearing your voice helps them to distinguish between sounds and develop language skills. While babies might not begin talking until they’re around 12 months, they begin learning a language much earlier, so be sure to talk to them regularly. 

Combine Learning and Play

Kids love to play, and it’s a great way to relax and have fun with your child, but it’s also a fantastic learning opportunity. You can use fun and easy learning activities for 3-year-olds to help your preschooler develop the skills they’ll need as they get older, for example. As well as incorporating number and letter recognition into games, activities like building with bricks, coloring, or playing with play-doh allow youngsters to develop their motor skills and coordination, which will stand them in good stead as they get older. 

Get Kids Involved in Day-to-Day Activities

When you’ve got an endless list of things to get through, letting your kids get involved might seem like a bad idea. However, it’s through these day-to-day activities that children absorb a whole lot of information. Whether you’re doing laundry, preparing dinner, or vacuuming the carpet, let your kids get involved when they show interest. They may want to help or ask how things work, for example, which gives you the opportunity to teach them more about the things they’re surrounded by. It might take a little longer to get things done, but letting your kids ‘help’ with tasks means they feel included and learn from their environment. 

Model Positive Behavior

Babies mimic behavior from the people around them but it isn’t just babies who use this technique to learn. Kids of all ages mimic behavior, whether it’s consciously or subconsciously, which is why it’s important to model positive behavior as much as possible. 

As well as teaching your kids how to be kind and how to interact with people, this is an important way to help your children learn how to express their emotions and deal with negative situations. When your kids see you dealing with setbacks in a healthy way, for example, they learn how to do the same. 

This promotes positive self-development and emotional health, which is vital for children of all ages. By giving them the tools they’ll need to thrive, you can help your kids develop a range of inner resources that will ensure they’re able to navigate the many different types of situations they’ll encounter as they get older.

Encourage Kids to Ask Questions

If your toddler is at the stage of asking ‘why?’ a million times a day, encouraging them to ask more questions might seem foolhardy, but a child’s natural curiosity helps them learn. By responding positively to their inquisitiveness, you can nurture their interest in particular topics and help them understand what’s happening around them. 

When your kids get a little older, teaching them how to find the answers to their questions is also a good way to encourage self-learning. If your child asks you a question and you’re not sure of the answer, take the time to find it out with them. A quick Google search may only take minutes, but research and self-empowerment are skills that last a lifetime.  

Teaching Your Child How to Be Successful

Parents inevitably want their kids to be successful, but make sure you define exactly what success means within your family unit. Instead of focusing too heavily on milestones or academic performance, take a holistic view of success and recognize the importance of emotional well-being, happiness, and social confidence too. By doing so, you can create a balanced environment in which your child can flourish.