July 23, 2019 - Raising World Children

Practical Advice for Kids Aspiring to Be Confident Adults

Bucket lists are ‘in’ now. Everyone is making a list of things they want to do before they turn 30 or 40 or even before they move on to heavenly abode. I decided to give it a try with a twist. So, I made a list of hopes and dreams, not for me but for the future generation, also known as – My Kids! This would turn into real advice they can use to be mentally strong adults as well.

Advice to Be Raise Mentally Strong Adults

Reach for the Stars

1. Everyone wants to be known as the next big achiever! I dream that my children understand that sky is indeed the limit for them. They can be whoever they want to be. However, I hope that they also know that no matter what they try to be, being human while trying to achieve is more important than any other crown that they will wear.

You do not want to reach the top and look down upon the people you have trampled to reach your destination

Love Totally & Move On When Needed

2. Relationships and people are the driving force behind each and every one of us. I dream that my children are surrounded by love and respect in all their relationships. And I hope to teach them an important life-lesson …Looking for closure in relationships is equivalent to giving away your supreme power to be happy. When you read a book, you do not wait for the author to come turn your pages or close the book for you. You decide when enough is enough, or when you want to read more.

Contribute to Society

3. Each of us have an important role to play in this society. Some of us become doctors and teachers while others might chose to stay home and care for our family members. I dream for my children to be productive members of our society. It would be lovely if they could earn enough money while doing this. But I hope that they find happiness in whatever they decide their contribution should be.

mentally strong adults

Lose with Grace

4. You win some. You lose some . An unwritten fact of life that everybody seems to ignore. I dream that my children win every game of life. But, I hope that they also learn to take a loss in their stride. You fall, you get up and get going for the next challenge.

Forgive & Forget

5. We live in unforgiving times. People find it hardest to let go and move on from people and situations. My dream is that my children never ever face a situation where they have to forgive or have to be forgiven by someone. But I sincerely hope that they don’t follow the saying …I will forgive but not forget. Have you really forgiven someone if you haven’t forgotten what they did to you?

Keep Bettering Yourself

6. Competing with others robs you of your self-esteem and peace of mind. I dream that my children increase and improve their talents, every single day of their life. But I hope that they are aware that no matter how good they think they are at some thing, there might be someone who is better than them and that is completely alright!

Do What Feels Right

7. We are all surrounded by various relationships and the expectations that come with them. We are constantly expected to be a certain person and act a certain way with people around us. I dream that my children are strong and capable enough to deal with these expectations.

I hope that they also understand that it is impossible to keep everyone happy constantly without going crazy yourself. At some point, they should learn to do things that feels right to them and do it because it is the right thing to do.

Keep Expectations in Check

8. And continuing on the above point, I dream that my children are smart enough to not have too many expectations from people and situations. I do hope though that if they do have expectations and face any disappointments, they are brave enough to dust off and move on. You do not form relationships to get something from them, you form them because you are a social animal and it is what you should be doing.

Be Kind – To Others & Yourself

9. The act of helping someone gives you a great deal of satisfaction. I dream that my children are known for their kind and helpful nature. But I truly hope that they are also kind to themselves, especially when they feel like they have made a mistake. When you learn to be kind to yourself, you develop a new perspective of other people’s so-called mistakes.

Work & Play Hard

10. We constantly live our lives pursuing one objective after another. When one mission is fulfilled, another task is waiting just around the corner. I dream that my children are able to fulfill all their objectives and missions that they have set up for their life. But I hope that they also manage to have fun while working hard to meet their goals. As the saying goes, all work and no play makes you a dull boy/girl. I would love for them to work hard and play hard too.

When it comes to hopes and dreams, there is no end to what we want for our children. But a parent’s biggest hope and dream will always be for their children to be have a peaceful and a joyful life!!

Share this so every child within your influence learns to be a better adult when they grow up. What is your hope for the future generation?

Confident Kids & a Global Mindset : Grab Your Copy !

30 % Discount This Summer.
Grab it for a Quick Summer Read Now!

Know the Family’s Heritage Language to Stay Rooted

Rita Rosenback is a Family Language Coach, speaker and author. Her book “Bringing up a Bilingual Child” is an easy-to-read guide for parents navigating them across the “Seven Cs of Multilingual Parenting: Communication, Confidence, Commitment, Consistency, Creativity, Culture and Celebration”. On Rita’s website www.multilingualparenting.com you can find more than 300 posts and Q&As on the topic of raising children to speak more than one language. Rita is a Finland-Swede, now living in the UK. She has two multilingual adult daughters and is currently helping to pass on Swedish to her grandson.

Tell us a little about yourself and your family.

My name is Rita Rosenback and I am a Family Language Coach, author and speaker on the topic of raising bilingual and multilingual children. I am originally from Finland and moved to the UK over 20 years ago. I have two adult daughters and two wonderful grandsons, who are growing up to become bilingual in English and Swedish.

Which cities have your lived in/ visited in your lifetime? Which is your favorite?

I was born in a little village on the Swedish-speaking west coast of Finland. I then moved to Turku in the southwest of Finland to study languages and also lived in Göttingen, in the then West Germany, while studying German. When my eldest daughter was small, we stayed a couple of months in Phagwara, Punjab, with her Indian grandparents.

I now live in Derby, UK. Choosing a favorite place is like answering the question “Which one of your children do you love the most? – an impossible choice. Every place has its charm.

My home village in Finland will always be very dear to me and a peaceful place for the whole family to return to every summer. The cities I studied in will forever have a magical memory of learning, growing as a human being and making life-long friends from across the world. India fascinated me with its warm people, natural beauty and vibrant communities. My current “home” city is Derby in the gorgeous Derbyshire in the middle of the UK, close to the magnificent Peak District.

Part of my heart is in each of the places I have lived – on my bed I have an embroidered pillow with the phrase “Home is where your heart is,” and in my mind I always add “and your heart can be in many places.”

What brought you to what you do ?

Family Language Coach – Languages have always been close to my heart and most jobs I have done have been somehow related to speaking more than one language. I grew up bilingual in Finnish and Swedish, Both my daughters grew up to speak the family languages: Swedish, Punjabi and later English.

My eldest daughter also learnt Finnish while we lived in Finland. When we moved to the UK, I noticed that my daughters were able to speak their father’s language, Punjabi, better than many children who had been brought up by two Indian parents in the UK.

I was intrigued by this and also saddened by the loss of the family language in many cases. While analyzing what we had done as a family to successfully raise our daughters to speak three/four languages, I noticed the differences in our approach compared to those families whose kids were not fluent.

This inspired me to start my blog multilingualparenting.com and later to write my book “Bringing up a Bilingual Child”. I am passionate about this topic and know that parents can be successful in passing on their languages. Sometimes they need a little bit of support and advice and this is where I can help.

3. What is one aspect in raising multicultural children do we need to be MOST aware of.

When raising multicultural children, the most important thing in my opinion is to make sure that they are aware of and proud of all cultures that are part of their identity. (Of course, this comes after making sure they are fed, safe, loved and educated.) Because of what I do and what I am passionate about, I will bring up the importance of sharing the family languages with our children, to the best of our ability.

For children to know the heritage language of their parents and grandparents makes it so much easier to learn about and stay connected with their culture. Knowing more language also makes children more open-minded and aware. They will be able to act as bridges between generations, countries and cultures – something what is badly needed in today’s world.

What is one personal challenge you have overcome growing up?

When I was 21, my mother died in pancreatic cancer within three months of her diagnosis. At the time I was still finding myself and my place in this world. It took me several years to find my feet again. Based on my experience I would like to tell young people that you can recover from anything.

Advice: Don’t ever suppress your feelings of grief. Ask for help and take it when offered. Speak to someone about your challenges.

Share with us two parenting hacks that have made your/child’s life easy.

It may be an old-fashioned view, but I think children should learn the importance of working/doing chores early on in life. The earlier you start, the easier it is. I have let me daughters help me since they first were able to walk! Allow them to empty the washing machine, moving on to the dish washer according to their capability. Instill the pride of doing it themselves and it will become second nature – and this of course goes for both boys and girls! If we wait on our children hand and foot when they are small, we cannot suddenly expect them to participate in chores when they are teenagers.

Another “hack”, if you can call it so, is to trust your children. I believe in giving children responsibility and trusting them to do the right thing. Of course, you must be a good role model for this attitude – never expect of your child anything that you are not able to model yourself.

What projects are you working on next?

I am writing my second book, which is a fictional diary of a bilingual mother. The book follows a multilingual family’s journey over several years and touches on the joys and challenges of raising children to speak more than one language.

What is one piece of advice you would give to children?

Depends on the age, of course, but after they are past the age of “follow your parents’ advice to keep you safe” I would say: Keep an open and inquisitive mind, keep asking those difficult questions and believe in yourself!

Tell us three things that are on your bucket list?

Just crossed off one of my bucket list items by visiting Iceland – still remaining: parachute jump, visiting lake Titicaca and publishing my 10th book!

1. What 3 books OR movies would you say changed your life?

I read Wayne Dwyer’s “The Sky’s the Limit” when I was a young adult, and it made a deep impact on my vision on life. I struggled after my mother died and the book gave me a new belief in my future. No other book or film comes even close, so I will leave it at that.

Do you have any freebies for our readers/listeners?

Once a month I hold a free live Facebook session where I answer parents’ questions about raising bilingual and multilingual children. Everyone is free to send in their questions. Previous episodes are recorded and can be accessed through my Facebook page.

FIND more World Changers Here.

Nominate someone to be featured by mailing contact@localhost with a few sentences about why you think they are a world changer. Include their email address.

Parents : Grab Your Copy !

For Confident Kids with a Global Mindset !

30 % Discount This Summer.
Grab it for a Quick Summer Read Now!

Helping Kids Imbibe Both Languages in a Bilingual Household

Love is beautiful in whatever way it manifests itself. One of the most beautiful sights to witness is when two people come across cultures to find one another and fall in love. It’s not always an easy thing to do, but it’s wonderful when a couple can embrace their differences, stand in solidarity and build with each other. One of the most interesting components involves having children. If you both speak a different language, consider the ways you can raise your child in a bilingual household.

Celebrate both cultures as a family

Respect is paramount when you’re teaching about different cultures. Do your own research to make sure you’re not passing down information about other cultures that is steeped in ignorance or specific stereotypes. As you teach your child to respect both cultures, it’ll become second nature. One of the ways you can teach respect is through balancing the exposure to both cultures. Find ways to promote and highlight the beauty of both instead of putting one country and culture on a pedestal above the other.

Speak both languages at home

Make it a habit of teaching and speaking both languages at home. As your child learns to read, label each item in the home with the name from both languages. If you and your family eat breakfast and dinner together, consider splitting the time. You all can speak one language in the morning and the other language in the evening.

Find a bi-lingual preschool program

Your child is going to spend a considerable amount of time at school. It’s great to find a program that will support the work you and your spouse are doing at home. This is why it’s wise to find a Bilingual Early Childhood Center to visit and potentially enroll your child in. Do your own research to make sure it’s a program that you are comfortable with. The benefits of a good program, however, will mean greater fluency for your child in both languages and a greater sense of bonding socially among their peers.

Share both languages in your visual media

When you all are watching television or movies as a family, experience a variety of options. If Saturday night is your family movie night, alternate between watching movies in the respective languages of the home. The same applies to television shows or news channels. Even if you or your spouse aren’t fluent in both languages, having regular access to both languages during their developmental years will go a long way in helping them build their vocabulary.

When you’re teaching a child to speak one language, it can already prove to be an interesting journey. However, when you add another language on top of another, you’ll have to be even more intentional. As you implement these tips, remember to do so with lots of patience. Know that this is a journey worth committing to because children are sponges. They can learn whatever you teach them.