6 Year Old 1. Commitment Commitment is explained as the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause or activity. Every commitment requires honesty and integrity—in order for commitments to work, you must be honest with yourself about your commitment and how you live it out. Every commitment is a promise. Honouring one’s commitment no matter what is a critical lesson to teach our children, and it starts with teaching them how to keep their promises no matter what. Commitment is one of the important character traits to develop in our children. This value increases self-esteem and strengthens academic confidence. Children learn these character traits through both strong modelling and active participation. We must show them what commitment looks like, and we must deliberately create opportunities for them to develop this valuable quality.
How to be a Role Model of Commitment to Children
1. Build strong relationships, both in the team and at home. How do we persevere during the hardest moments of crisis? How do we handle conflict? Do our children see us, as their parents and as their teachers,working together to solve issues? These are some things to reflect upon.
2. Set big goals and work towards them.
Whether it’s a goal to learn some tough games or develop a hobby, our children learn so much from us as they see how we persevere towards our own goals. Be honest with your children about the struggle and challenges that you are facing to stay committed to your goals. This is the opportunity for us to share with them and for them to witness both sides of the story: when we are standing strong and committed, as well as when we are facing the challenges of commitment.
3. Show them unconditional grace
How do we respond when a child fails to stay committed? Showing them unconditional grace is critical, but it’s equally important for us to correct them. This might include discipline and at the same time showing them the unconditional love as their parents and as their teachers. This demonstrates our commitment to them as well. We are their leader and their guide, their best role model in the path of learning and growing.
4. Share inspiring stories about ourselves and others
It is important to tell our children our own stories of commitment and non-commitment situations. Do try to go into in-depth discussion with them about the process you went through and how you can strengthen the value of commitment.
Practical ways to teach children about commitment It is always interesting and fulfilling to create activities for children to actively participate in the process of learning the value of commitment. This process will show them what commitment actually looks and feels like. Guide the children to set goals to guide them into exploring and learning new things and start working towards it. Here are some examples.
1) Involvement in daily classroom duties and house chores. Chores and duties are a great practical way to teach children about the ongoing commitment to keep the environment in running order.
2) Have them take care of a pet. Whether it’s caring for farm animals, a cat or dog, a turtle, a rabbit, a duck or a chicken or even a fish, the daily responsibilities of animal ownership certainly teach commitment. Children can take turns to bring school animals home over the weekend and long holidays to take care of them.
There will be time when a child wanted to quit—this will be the best time to discuss the situation and to guide them on the importance of committing to the end. Make sure not to step in and “rescue” the child, because an easy way out will not help them in the long run.
3) Work together on a big school project.
Fund raising projects, building something in the school, planting trees together and other such activities allow the children to practice the values they learn through the activities and interaction. 4) Teach them a sport or an instrument. Daily practice teach children both about commitment and the joy of accomplishment. 5) Play difficult board games or putting puzzles together. Even learning to play chess or putting together a 500-piece puzzle teaches children about commitment. There’s great value in finishing something, especially when it’s difficult! 6) Offer regular challenges. As parents and as teachers, we must learn to master the fine art of complimenting and encouraging our children. Give them and guide them through difficult challenges (with age appropriate projects). Help them to see the expression of their abilities beyond what they think they can achieve at their age. This can help them to unleash their full potential. For example, asking them to complete difficult math problems, asking them to read challenging literature, attending to a challenging project, or taking them on a short mission trip. Again, remember to show the child unconditional grace when they grow frustrated or uninterested.
7) Schedule and plan with children Show them how to develop a schedule and share with them the purpose of planning and implementing the schedule for self-management. Develop a schedule for yourself too and show them how you implement the planned schedule. This is a great way to teach them how planning and scheduling works hand in hand with commitment. 8) Encourage patience with siblings and/or those who may be different in class. Some children find it challenging to get along with others with very different personalities. Teach them about the acceptance of others, and how to love each other despite their differences. It is important to teach them that commitment is unconditional—you should not break promises just because you have a falling-out with your friend!
Commitment is one of the great character traits that we can grow together with our children. It’s grown layer by layer through our own role modeling and guidance to them through the process of committing to things.