My mom is a great gift-giver (and a great gift-wrapper)! This Christmas, one of the things she gave me was a pair of socks that says, “I am awesome!”
If you’re like me, you’ve probably already disappointed yourself with regard to your New Year’s resolutions. But today, instead of beating myself up, I decided to embrace the message on my socks!
Do you know how much better it feels to start the day saying, “I am awesome!” rather than, “Boy, I sure blew it yesterday”?
Why Kids With Learning Challenges Beat Themselves Up
Many children and adults with learning or attention challenges start each new day with good intentions, only to find that they let themselves, their parents, and their teachers down by not being able to pay attention, not completing their work quickly enough, or falling back into old avoidance behaviors.
It’s hard to keep trying day after day when you don’t ever seem to feel successful. Pretty soon negative self-talk begins to encroach.
“I’m so dumb!”
“I’ll never be able to do this!”
“My teacher hates me.”
What we don’t realize while we’re “beating ourselves up,” is that we’re perpetuating the problem and chipping away at our self-esteem. We’re shutting down energy and mental resources that we need to function and feel well.
Positive Affirmations Build Self-Esteem
At Stowell Learning Center, we often work with students on giving themselves positive affirmations. These are phrases or sentences that we say to ourselves that build self-esteem and train our minds to feel empowered instead of defeated – always a better place to be.
Positive affirmations work on the subconscious mind, which seems to be particularly receptive in the morning and late at night, so send your kids off to school and sleep with something positive running through their minds.
I remember when my kids we little, my husband would say to each of them as he kissed them goodnight and tucked them in, “You’re the best!” We now have two great grown kids who don’t seem to think anything can get in the way of them pursuing their dreams, so maybe this message, given night after night, got into their DNA!
Learning Challenges Can Be Corrected
If you or your child has a learning or attention challenge, obviously, positive affirmations are not going to solve the problem, but they go a long way towards molding our beliefs about ourselves.
And here’s the GREAT NEWS~ most learning and attention challenges can be dramatically improved or completely corrected.
If you want to know more about correcting learning challenges, JOIN US for a Parent Information Night.
Happy New Year!
Quick Answers
How can positive affirmations help children with learning challenges?
Positive affirmations are phrases or sentences that we say to ourselves that build self-esteem and train our minds to feel empowered instead of defeated. They work on the subconscious mind, which seems to be particularly receptive in the morning and late at night.
Will affirmations solve a learning or attention challenge?
Positive affirmations are not going to solve the problem, but they go a long way towards molding our beliefs about ourselves. Most learning and attention challenges can be dramatically improved or completely corrected.
Jill Stowell, M.S.
Founder and Executive Director of Stowell Learning Centers and bestselling author of At Wit's End and Take the Stone Out of the Shoe. For more than 40 years, Stowell Learning Centers has helped children and adults correct the root causes of dyslexia, learning, and attention challenges. More about Jill
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