Teaching Children The Courage To Be Themselves

By Author: Paolo Tiberi
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-quot;It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are,-quot;
E.E. Cummings, American poet and essayist.
Children today are increasingly inundated with images, factoids and guidelines on how to be this or that; the push to be like everyone else is strong. How can a teacher or parent instill in their children the power of being unique? How can a parent see the beauty and attractiveness of their child and relay the idea that, though they do not look like the current child star, they are amazingly awesome? How can a teacher see a student-#39;s unique creativity and spark a flame of desire to be themselves whether anyone else understands what they do or not?

Paolo F. Tiberi-#39;s tale, King Ultan and His Three Sons (part of the book Chronicles of King Argoz, Prince Ultan and Princess Maya), could help. In this story, the King-#39;s triplets are given a task, a test, to see which of them should rule the kingdom next. The story covers their three different responses to the task. Each of them did something, but the answer that each gave was unique. The tale centers in on each of the three-#39;s answer, ...
... but it does not label any of them wrong. At the end of the ordeal, the King examines his sons-#39; actions. Seeing the genius of each, he states,
-quot;Each of you will have a purpose and fulfill a precious role in this Kingdom.-quot;

As parents and teachers, we need to follow the example of the King. He did not say, -quot;This was not the answer I was looking for.-quot; Instead, he congratulated them on having an answer and pointed out how their particular style or thought process could be implemented somewhere in the kingdom. In the end, only one of the sons was named heir, but all of the sons had been pointed in a direction that fit them and that was vital to the continued health of the kingdom.

One thing educators and parents can do early on is to encourage group thinking exercises in which the number of answers is rewarded. All positive answers should be applauded. Ask the children what they would do with a small amount of money. Be specific, if your children have a solid understanding of money. Or ask them in general terms: -quot;If you had enough money to buy or do anything you wanted, what would you do with it?-quot; Again, applaud positive answers.

To develop courage, always be on the lookout for opportunities to compliment your child-#39;s ideas. Our children are never too young to be complimented. If you-#39;re instructing on how to clean up, and instead of going directly to the toy box with the toys, your youngster grabs a shoe box and loads it up before going to the toy box, express amazement and even ask him how to do what he is doing. This will breed confidence in his ideas, and will show him that you value them.

Parental and teacher approval is a big motivator for children and could have a strong impact into whether a child has the courage to develop into his own unique person with his own unique ideas and thought process. Let-#39;s challenge our young ones to be themselves, and in doing that, ensure that the world they live in will be better off because of their input!

-quot;Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else,-quot; Judy Garland, actor and singer.
About Author:
Paolo F. Tiberi is a published author, behavioral expert, public speaker, teacher and motivator.

Chronicles of King Argoz, Prince Ultan and Princess Maya is the first of a series of riveting books in the Legends of Altai series for children age 5 to 12 and easy read for adults. Parents struggling to teach their children life lessons such as empathy, non-judgment, patience, altruism and compassion are being helped by this great book. The book is revolutionary as it teaches kids respect, life lessons and values through story telling, a language that all kids can understand.

It's been described as 'The Secret meets the Alchemist and the Chicken Soul for the Soul'. If you would like to get a FREE story for yourself or child showcasing the book life lessons and story telling, or would like to purchase the book please visit: http://www.legendsofaltai.com The book is also available through