By Building Children's Self Confidence Early, a Firm Foundation of Character is Laid.
Children are our precious gifts and the building of children's self confidence is of utmost importance starting at an early age. Children are basically white belts in the dojang of life, innocent with no knowledge. It is up to us, as parents, to teach and guide them for things to come in life. We must mold a child, taking care to allow them to experience things that uplift them and make them feel good about themselves. Instilling self esteem and good judgment can present obstacles as we raise a child, however. Opportunities for us to have a positive impact on our children present themselves on a daily basis. A parent really has to be on their toes at all times to make each of these positive impacts count. The reverse is also true. Those same opportunities can also have a negative outcome (shouting at the child, "Why didn't you do or say....",etc) or downplaying what they feel is important. This should be avoided. Let Patience rule the tongue and Attentiveness rule the eyes. So, how do we, as parents, know what opportunities to seize and how do we make the outcome positive?? Some everyday occurrences that you may use to make a positive impact on a child include;
There are many more ways such as this that help us to raise healthy children but the main point is to let them, no matter how young, take the wheel for a moment. Be sure to talk about it immediately afterwards and let the child know what a wonderful job they did. The smiles you get will be priceless. Now, what does this have to do with TaeKwonDo Karate?? Simple, it goes back to the Tenets of TaeKwonDo Karate. In the above scenarios, the Tenets of Courtesy and Integrity are obviously in exercised. What about Perseverance, Self Control, and Indomitable Spirit? The Perseverance part basically falls on us, the parents. We keep providing the opportunities for the child to learn and master self confidence no matter what the past outcomes have been. This shows the child that we are not giving up on them--very important. Self Control is best learned through interaction with people not from the immediate family. Society has boundaries as to what is acceptable and not acceptable. It is very unlikely that a child would throw a screaming fit at the clerk if he didn't have the part he needed. Indomitable Spirit means overcoming a major problem. What if your child is terribly shy or has a speech impediment or some other problem. It is up to us as parents to provide opportunities for overcoming these things. The positive impact for each scenario may be small but the main thing is to make it positive none-the-less. Eventually, problems such as these should work themselves out to a degree that the child feels comfortable no matter what the impairment. Positive Interaction, Self Confidence, and a sense of "Who You Are" is a very potent medicine. The main point of this is that building children's self confidence takes a little bit of each one of the Tenets of TaeKwonDo. Having parents that are well grounded in character allows children to learn how they learn best--by example. The Tenets of TaeKwonDo give us a beautiful framework not only to mold a child's character but an adult's as well. Remember, TaeKwonDo is for the young and old and it is not just practiced in the dojang. It is practiced everywhere you go in life. Nowadays, it is even Practiced Online! Speaking of Practice, children are not drawn to TaeKwonDo for its character building skills. They want to Kick and Punch and YELL!! Being spontaneous, running, laughing, and playing are as natural as breathing to a child. So, making these things part of the regular TaeKwonDo class should be a "no brainer" for any instructor. However, this is a Martial Art, meaning a Military Art. That's right, although we consider this a sport, most of the world considers TaeKwonDo as part of their regular military training! So, as an instructor, the fun and games must be tempered with strict discipline in technique. Half and Half is a great combination. The first half of my classes are devoted to " Yes, Sir", "No, Sir" and perfection of technique. The latter half is me holding a kicking shield saying, "Let'er Rip, give me your best shots, and YELL!" All the while, giving strong words of encouragement and praise to each one. Needless to say, the kids can't wait to get to the "Let'er Rip" part. You are welcome to Take a look at these Online TaeKwonDo Courses that are structured to provide a full-fledged Path to a True and Certified Black Belt. If you are thinking about becoming a TaeKwonDo Instructor, a good start on your business can be found at Legacy Martial Arts Supply . This company specializes in the manufacture of Leather Products. They have Superior Quality 100% ALL COTTON Uniforms as well which are getting extremely hard to find at reasonable prices. Their prices are WELL Below Any Other company's wholesale prices. I think that regular students can make purchases from them as well. Ask your instructor to have a look as well because the school logo service is outstanding! Granted, Quality takes time to produce so it will take several days longer to receive your products but it will be well worth the wait! These pages above will give you an idea of what a beginning student in TaeKwonDo will learn. There are also Online Courses for whole Families there as well! Also, Here is a link on what to expect on your First Day of either an Onsite or Online Class. If you would like to see my 
From Building Children's Self Confidence To The Tenets of TaeKwonDo
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