10 Simple Ways To Identify Well-Raised Children

Raising children in the modern age is akin to leading a flock of lambs through a minefield, with all the distractions, unsavory influences, and bad choices that surround them.

Keeping a well-nourished, happy, healthy child is a difficult task, so we must doth our caps to all parents fighting the good fight, but what traits do well-rounded, happy children display?

1. Open Mindedness

Kids who have healthy self-esteem are usually much more open-minded than their neglected rivals. A child raised to be curious about the world will understand and navigate it better. Moreover, a National Institute of Health (NIH) study says, “Openness to different ways of thinking allows for parents to consolidate parenting that does not resort to coercive and hostile behaviors, control, obedience, and severe strictness.”

2. Grit and Persistence

Raising children with grit isn’t easy, and many obstacles (like peers) can stand in the way. However, by giving kids a chance to work things out and develop their problem-solving skills, they have a chance at developing better schemas. Unfortunately, some “helicopter parents” can sometimes overprotect, overcompensate, and overindulge their children. They do this with good intentions but with little clue about the implications.

3. Passion

Happy children are invariably excitable about their passions and will likely tell you all about them if you let them. Does your son rave about Pokemon and the Avengers? Does your daughter get excited about the latest fashion ideas? These are both good signs that a child’s parents are good listeners who encourage their pursuits. The pinnacle of knowing a kid is passionate about something is when they dedicate time to it when nobody’s looking.

4. Risk-Taking

Being brave shows that a child isn’t afraid to fail, though this trait is perhaps the trickiest for nervous parents to navigate. University of British Columbia professor Mariana Brussoni has researched children’s play habits for many years. She suggests in a CBC interview that when watching kids play, parents should “see how your child is reacting to the situation so that you can actually get a better sense of what they’re capable of when you’re not getting in the way.”

5. Initiative

A powerful quality for successful adults (at least one all employment experts go on about) is being a self-starter. We don’t need to see data to realize that working independently is a life skill we all need. Being an efficient self-starter only comes intrinsically, so a parent cannot teach initiative — they can reward it, though.

6. Respect

After living in Asia for many years, I came back to Western Europe with the observation that we can learn much from Asian countries’ respect for elders. In cultures where the eldest family members eat first, children are respectful of their seniors. Cultural values aside, a good parent will always reward respectful behavior, and a well-grounded child will foster respect for fellow humans, old or young.

7. Good Manners

As a former teacher, I can attest that most educators abhor bad manners in their classroom, and students who persistently offend may (will) suffer from subconscious bias in their grades. While this seems unfair, it reflects the real world; rude children will more than likely develop into worse adults. However, if children’s only example of manners comes from their obnoxious parents, they have little chance.

8. Delayed Gratification

It is a proud moment the first time a parent sees their child consider their options before making a decision or working towards a pocket money-saving goal. Some kids cannot resist their urges, and parents needn’t panic — this is normal. While this skill may take some time to master, seeing the rewards is exciting. Wait until they learn about compound interest!

9. Gratitude

Nothing warms a parent’s heart more than their child being grateful for their blessings, especially if that parent grew up with financial restraints. Of course, a child can be grateful while still experiencing personal development issues, and this would be an encouraging sign for that child’s future well-being. Furthermore, a Harvard Health paper explains how gratitude boosts mental health, so being thankful is a building block for a fulfilling life.

10. Humility

We parents have all encountered the same unfortunate trope: the heavy-handed bully at the playpark who has no boundaries. Let’s be honest: when we see that kid bulldozing his way to the front of the zipline, we all wish we were thirty (forty) years younger. Teaching humility can be a balancing act that might even require negative reinforcement sometimes. However, there is consolation if your kid lacks humility — at least they are confident.

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