Youth Encouraging Each Other

With summer vacation comes all sorts of changes in our lives. Children have less instruction and guidance by a consistent teacher. Camps usually include way more young people than the standard classroom and those friends can change weekly or even daily. What doesn’t change is that growth continues. Young people sometimes challenge themselves to try new and different things...especially when they're interacting with older kids. Teaching children to support and encourage each other not only strengthens their bonds with others, but it also boosts self-esteem and self-image.

To start you may need to define “encourage” for a child. It means to inspire with hope or confidence; to uplift; to give support to; foster; to stimulate; spur. Ask them to discuss a time when they have been encouraged by others and how that made them feel. Ask them to think of ways to encourage others and then help them to act on their ideas. Model encouragement for them. Think of ways to actively encourage your partner/spouse in the presence of your children. Role-play with your kids and help them to choose proper words when they are encouraging others. 

Scenarios for role-playing and modeling encouragement can include uplifting a sick family member, comforting a friend who is sad, encouraging a classmate who is struggling and supporting a friend who is trying something new. Positively acknowledge when you see encouraging behaviors from a child. With that, you should also correct behavior immediately if you witness unkind words used and actions that are not encouraging. Click here to learn about more ways to encourage young people to encourage others!