“It’s too hard!”
“I give up!”
Does your child quickly abandon tasks or lose interest in things?
We’re not born with all the skills to get things done successfully. We learn them.
How to Build Goal-Directed Persistence
Goal-Directed Persistence is an important executive functioning skill that children can learn and develop from a young age. Executive skills enable children to become competent learners, control their emotions and be capable of forming positive relationships with others.
If your child is weak in this skill, you might notice that they not only struggle with boring tasks like chores, but also give up on things that are fun like games and activities. They struggle in maintaining the effort, especially when plans change or they are interrupted.
The good news is, you are already helping your child develop Goal-Directed Persistence if they:
– Participate in a team sport
– Play a musical instrument
– Save up to buy something
– Read novels
– Play board games with you
– Undertake age-appropriate household chores
– Take on the care and responsibility of a pet
But what if you find it easy to see things through to the end, but your child does not?
Sometimes, conflict may arise because of expectations. Your expectations may well be too high if your child hasn’t quite yet grasped this skill.
You could try lowering your expectations to begin with, and then help your child break down the goal and celebrate small steps to success along the way. Another idea could be to start with a realistic goal that your child prefers to work on such as building something cool, rather than a homework task.
Is Your Child Struggling With Their Emotions?
Resilience Kit specialises in programs to help children who struggle with their emotions, learn better ways to cope with life’s challenges. If your family could benefit from additional support, learn more about our group programs and private home sessions. View the upcoming program dates here.
