Many parents prioritize protecting their kids from harm, danger, conflicts and risks. However, overprotecting kids will not help them prepare for the many problems of being an adult. Parents could try unique and counterintuitive parenting tips to prepare kids for an adult life that is filled with these hazards.
Parenting.com shared some unique parenting tips that parents could try. These counterintuitive parenting ideas might just be what your kids need to succeed in this complicated world.
1. Handling "dangerous" tools
Potentially dangerous tools such as knives and scissors are usually kept away from kids. However, some parents try exposing their kids to these tools early on with close supervision in order to build their confidence in using these things.
2. Hearing about sad and tragic stories.
Many parents do not tell their kids sad and tragic stories because they are afraid of emotionally traumatizing their kids. However, exposing kids to these kinds of stories early on can help them realize that the world is a much more complicated place than they thought.
This can also help them cope with a range of different emotions such as anger, fear and sadness. These are feelings that they will have to learn how to handle in order to succeed.
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3. Talking to strangers.
"For one thing, we now know that family and friends are the ones most likely to harm a child. For another, children are safer when they gain street smarts, not when they're paralyzed by fear," Parenting.com shares.
4. Going straight to first grade
Bypassing kindergarten can be one of the most unique parenting tips you can use for your kids. Instead of sending kids to kindergarten, they can try out homeschooling and day care centers where they can be exposed to more physical and imaginative activities.
"In an increasing number of kindergartens, teachers must follow scripts from which they may not deviate," researchers from Long Island University, Sarah Lawrence College and UCLA shared via Salon. "These practices, which are not well grounded in research, violate long-established principles of child development and good teaching."
