By Mona Ismaeil

It’s true that by nature some people are more optimistic than others but we can teach our children to have a positive attitude, and live a positive life. Our children will go through hardships and face adversity but it is the attitude they bring to each and every situation and the tools we provide them with that will make everything so much easier.

Celebrate Little Things

Help your child find joy in everyday things. This does not mean a party because they finished their dinner but if they do well on a spelling test let them know you are proud of them. If your child cleans up his toys even if you had to ask three times, in the end they did do it. Encouraging little steps will lead to increased confidence that greater tasks are not unreachable.

Leave Room For Grief

Although life is full of joys, there will be losses, pain and suffering, it is important to teach your child that ‘bad things’ will happen; that’s just fine and all will pass. Ensure your child knows that they have a safe place to open up and speak freely about their concerns, fears and pain. Ensure them that there is no shame in shedding tears. This is a natural relief of emotions and stress.  This concept is especially important for little boys as society tells them that grieving and crying is not appropriate.

Model Gratitude

The best way to be positive about a situation is to be grateful for we already have and know that Allah (swt) has blessed us in so many ways. It can be difficult but we should expose our children (within reason) to the hardships that are facing others in the world. Make it a habit to say ‘Alhamduallah’ for everything big and small. After grocery shopping point out to your child how grateful you are that you are able to buy healthy food. This will become an automatic way of thinking.

Reassure That They’ll Never Be Alone

Negativity usually stems from fear. Reassure your child that you will always be there for them. That they can always come to you to talk, cry, laugh or just ask a question. Also, it is extremely important that children understand that Allah (swt) is always close by. We should help our children build a strong relationship with Allah (swt). We must teach them to have Faith that no matter what.

In the Holy Qur’an; Surat Qaf (50:16) Allah (swt) says:

“And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein.”

Be a Good Example

As they saying goes ‘monkey see, monkey do’. Children model exactly what we do and to teach them, to really teach them to be positive, we must be positive. The more we show our children that there are ups and downs in life and that we can face them head on with a smile, the more our children will face life’s ups and downs with a smile.

About the author:

Mona Ismaeil is the Associate Editor at MuslimMoms.ca and the proud owner of Modern Hejab, an Edmonton based online hijabs store. She is a new stay-at-home mom of a sweet little girl. Mona is also a former elementary school teacher turned blogger and writer.

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