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Home › Articles › Development › The Sippy Cup Is Half Full

The Sippy Cup Is Half Full

Tips for Raising an
Optimistic Child

By Mark Stackpole

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"Beautiful, wonderful things can happen or be seen every day, and to enjoy these helps increase a sense of opening to the unknown in life without fear," Allen says. "Children can practice this by noticing, being grateful and being kind to others. Appreciating these things can be an ongoing discussion between parent and child and a nightly review on how to perceive the day with gratitude."

I Can Do It!
Dawn Daniels of Farmington, Mich., is the stay-at-home mother of five children ranging in age from 1 month to 6 years old. As a parent and home-schooler, she has seen the power of both optimism and pessimism. Her oldest son, John, believes that he can do anything, and Daniels definitely believes that his attitude has contributed mightily to his success.

"Even when he meets with initial failure, he refuses to give up, insisting that he can do it," Daniels says. "He's also one of the most confident children I've ever seen. I just don't think you can separate that positive attitude from his self-esteem. At least, I've never met a confident pessimist. A child who thinks he is incapable of success most likely won't succeed and will also find it impossible to feel good about himself."

When younger son, Keegan, faced brain surgery earlier this year, the family faced a crisis. Though everything turned out all right, he was especially resistant to doing the neck exercises required by his rehabilitation.

"While we realized it was hurting him, the consequences for not doing them were much worse," Daniels says. "The exercises were painful for him, and we often heard those two awful words, 'I can't.' We spent a lot of time being cheerleaders and encouraging him. We were so exuberant about any little success that it wasn't long before 'I can't' was replaced by him requesting that everyone watch him do his neck exercises."

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