Raising kids is a lifelong responsibility for parents. It’s also one of the most challenging things a parent will ever do. You need all the help you can get so you can raise responsible and well-adjusted kids that will grow up nicely and contribute positively to society.
It is your responsibility as a parent to consistently train and mold your child to become a responsible adult. You don’t want to receive that dreadful call from school about your child’s bad behavior or have to deal with other negative effects of raising a child with no manners or good character traits.
To raise kids that’ll grow up nicely, you need to know about the character traits that you can develop in your kids that will prepare them for a great future.
Here are 20 character traits that will help your kids grow up nicely.
1. Self-discipline
Discipline is a key ingredient of success in every aspect of life, without discipline there can’t be focus. The ability to discipline one’s self and adhere to strict rules that will keep one rooted on the way to success is very important.
Teaching a child discipline is getting the child ready for a future of success and focus. Self-discipline means putting off instant gratification and doing the hard things that have to be done now for better results tomorrow. Self-discipline leads to a happy life, so a child with self-discipline has higher chances of growing into a happy adult.
2. Honesty
Honesty they say is the best policy. Honesty involves telling the truth, thereby cultivating trust.
You can teach honesty by rewarding your child for speaking the truth and relaxing with punishment when your child speaks the truth about something they did wrong.
Never call your child a liar, always give them the benefit of the doubt. Understand that at some stage in their development children experience magical thinking and discover the power of fantasies. They might fabricate a few tales to avoid unpleasant consequences and try to get what they want.
Pay attention when this comes up and teach them honesty in a loving way that will shape their emotional and social development.
3. Resilience
Life is hard, that is the cold hard truth. To survive and keep getting back up after going through hard times, we need resilience. And resilience is built through self-discipline.
Developing resilience in a child through self-discipline increases a child’s belief in his/her abilities to effectively manage life’s challenges and situations.
A resilient child is more open to discussing his/her challenges with parents be helpful to others.
4. Respect
Children start to have an idea of respect by observing how their parents treat them and others.
Respect means accepting people for who they are, irrespective of their cultural background or differences. Respect is also known as esteem. People who respect and appreciate other people most times have a deep sense of respect for themselves too.
So, respect is a very important trait to cultivate in children so they can grow up to become functional and contribute positively to any society or community they find themselves in.
5. Integrity
Integrity is a highly valued trait, people who are seen to have integrity are oftentimes considered for leadership positions and important promotions.
Integrity means having deep values and living in according to them, being honest with everyone and always keeping your word. This is a beautiful trait for children to have.
6. Kindness
Kindness is marked by generosity and a genuine concern for others, all without expecting a reward or praise in return. Kids can sometimes show signs of selfishness, maybe in not sharing their toys with their friends or schoolmates.
It’s important to teach children the importance of sharing and showing care to others, even when they can’t reciprocate or show it back, especially when they can’t reciprocate.
7. Faith
Faith is defined as a strong belief or trust in someone or something.
Having faith in something bigger or higher than us is a good trait for children. Faith can also be applied in a non-religious way. When embarking on a journey or working towards a dream, it is important to have faith in one’s ability to keep moving and do everything needed to succeed.
So, whatever your religious orientation, instilling faith in children is like getting them ready for the trial and travails of tomorrow. Making them understand that faith in God and their abilities are a key ingredient for success.
8. Forgiving Heart
According to psychologists, forgiveness is defined as a conscious and deliberate decision to let go of feelings of vengeance or resentment towards a person or group of people who have harmed us, regardless of whether they deserve to be forgiven or not.
When we hold grudges we allow people to live in our minds rent-free. The subject of the grudge is out somewhere living free while we harbor negative thoughts and emotions.
A forgiving heart in children helps them to navigate life without giving room for negative emotions that can negatively impact their health and relationship with others.
9. Grit
Grit is defined as the passion and perseverance for long-term and meaningful goals. Grit is widely accepted to be a strong indicator of success and the ability to set and achieve goals.
We live in a world where things get increasingly harder every day, and without perseverance and passion, it is impossible to achieve anything great. Life always comes with challenges, so children with passion and perseverance will be well prepared when they are faced with the challenges of life.
10. Endurance
Endurance is the ability to keep going even when doing something strenuous and straining, be it physical or mental. Endurance is the ability to bear pain and hardships without stopping or giving up.
We all know and accept that to achieve anything worthwhile we need consistency. To be a high achiever in school a child needs to study hard day in day out and keep at it until the end. Endurance is what keeps us going even when we’re faced with suffering, hardships, and unpleasant circumstances.
Endurance is a great trait for children because it will help them to keep going when life gets hard or when they have to perform difficult and unpleasant tasks.
11. Hunger for Learning
We live in an information age where it is required that we perform at a high level of efficiency to survive. We have to interact with complex machines and improve every day to stay relevant.
The hunger for learning is a great recipe for success in this information age. If we can’t learn fast and efficiently we can’t compete in this fast-paced world. The hunger for learning and curiosity to know more is a trait that will definitely give children an upper hand and make them well equipped to succeed.
12. Gratitude
Gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratus which means ‘pleasing, thankful.’ It is the feeling of pleasure and happiness felt or shown by someone when they’ve been shown kindness or given a gift by another person.
Gratitude is a form of appreciation for all the good things of life. Gratitude builds positivity and encourages a positive outlook on life.
Children should be taught to say ‘thank you’ for every act of kindness or gift given to them. This will eliminate all feelings of entitlement and make them understand everything and everyone should be appreciated and life is a gift.
13. Serenity
Serenity is a state of mind that involves being calm and peaceful. Life is full of ups and downs, troubles and challenges. Panicking and worrying does nothing but make problems worse and cloud judgment.
Serenity is a trait that’ll benefit children a lot in that it’ll help them to face problems with a calm mind and think objectively to find solutions to their problems.
14. Hope
Hope is tied to expectations and optimism. Hope is looking forward with positivity to an event in the future. Hope is the fuel that keeps us going in our pursuit of something or the construction of a better tomorrow today.
Hopeful children have a positive mindset and have a strong belief that things will work out fine for them or they’ll get that gift or toy they’ve always wanted.
15. Compassion
Compassion is the feeling that arises when you see other people’s suffering and you are motivated to do whatever you can to ease their suffering or make their situation better.
Compassionate kids have an understanding of the pain or suffering of others, they will do anything in their power to help ease this suffering. Teaching kids to show kindness is a great way to prepare them to be adults who have a strong desire to contribute positively to society and their community and make the world a better place.
16. Adaptability
Change is constant, nothing remains the same. While growing up, there is a high chance that children will have to move with their parents a few times before they become adults.
Adaptability is a trait that ensures that children adjust fast to their new environment or roles and move on with life as soon as possible. Adaptability means not getting stuck in the past, accepting the present and using whatever resources are available at the moment to project into the future.
17. Courage
Most people believe that courage is the absence of fear. But this isn’t true, courage is the ability to do something or keep moving in the face of fear. Without fear, there is no courage.
Courage is the quality of mind that will enable children to face difficulties, danger, and pain head-on. There can be no improvement without the courage to face the fear of failure. There can be no success without the ability to do the things that scare us.
18. Dependability
Everybody wants to have someone trustworthy and reliable in their corner. No one will trust anybody who fails at keeping their word.
Dependability means making a promise and keeping it, even if there is a great sacrifice involved. Dependability builds integrity and trust. It means being timely, responsive, organized, consistent, and accountable.
Parents should set a good example for their children in this area by keeping their promises.
19. Flexibility
Flexibility describes how well someone can adjust to changes in their circumstances and think of creative ways to solve problems or adjust to a new environment.
This trait is highly useful when an unexpected change happens that requires a drastic change in the ways things are done. Flexible children adapt fast to changes and are more able to find new ways to survive or get by in a new environment.
20. Determination
Success can’t be achieved without a strong determination for success and a firmness of purpose. Determination involves persevering towards a goal in the face of obstacles and difficulties.
Determination is a strong positive emotional feeling that can drive children towards achieving goals like doing better in school and sports or mastering a difficult skill.
21. Patience
Patience is the ability to wait and persevere in the face of delay. Patience is keeping your cool in the face of provocation. Patience they say is a virtue. Children who are patient are better able to calm down and really study a situation and have time to think before they act.
Good things take time, patience is what gets us going even when the things we are hoping for are taking a while to happen.
22. Humility
Humility is the lack of pride or being humble. Humility is important in this day and age where it is easy to project an exaggerated image of ourselves on social media. Humility is necessary for growth because it involves seeing ourselves for what we truly are and not believing we are better than others.
As rightfully said by the revolutionary leader Nelson Mandela, “The first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself… Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.”
With humility, children can easily relate with other people in their community to make a positive impact on society and also to make relevant advancements in their lives.
Conclusion
Raising well-adjusted kids takes a lot of work, consistency, and time. But it’s a rewarding experience that’ll pay off later in life.
The traits discussed in this article are just a handful of numerous traits that will help children grow up nicely, but focusing on these traits is a good start.