Could your child have problems you are not aware of?

Unless and until a serious problem arises such as school or playground bullying, it can be easy for parents to miss the little signs that our kids are having emotional or mental problems. Sometimes there are no signs to see so don’t be hard on yourself with this. The child may not even be aware that there is a problem as such. I was not aware of the exact nature of the issues affecting my children until I temporarily found myself unable to cope. It was in finding my own way out of an emotional blackspot that I discovered how to uncover my kids’ issues.

One day I was playing with my young daughter, telling her how amazing she is and she was laughing – not sure if it was with me or at me. On impulse I got some of my “reminder notes” I had written for myself and asked her to read them with me. Some she had no problem reading but some she could not read without being awkward, fidgety and her face expressing unease. Over the next few days I re-wrote some of my reminder notes on cards, printed them off and experimented with friends and family. It was the same with everyone. Some cards they could read easily and some not so easily. That is when I realised I had stumbled across a way of helping people identify hidden problems not only in their kids but also in themselves!

Try it out yourself – you can now buy the cards online here. Sit with your child and make a game of reading the cards. As your child reads the cards one after the other, you will know by the expression on his/her face what their issues are – where they are finding life difficult. I would not make a big deal out of this. I would simply make a point of working on those issues as situations arise where this will be easy to do. It will take time depending on the issues and how deeply ingrained their belief or lack of self-belief is.

It is more important our children appreciate themselves for WHO they are than WHAT they can do. It is so easy for adults, teachers and parents to praise children for accomplishments and WHAT they do as opposed to showing them we love and appreciate them simply for who they are. In my opinion…this is possibly the greatest gift we can give our children…love them for who they are.

A child’s self-belief gives him/herself the freedom to explore their full potential in all aspects of life. It puts them in control of themselves. Powerful self-belief prevents them ever falling victim to anybody in any way.

Bullying is a issue all over the news these days – can a child be bullied if they have a deep core belief in themselves and their own power? When you believe in yourself it emanates from you – you don’t have to pretend it and nobody can neutralise it….nobody!