Helene Goldnadel on Writing Camps for Children

Children are very creative, but unfortunately there are very few avenues where they can express their creativity. Most of their time is spent in school where they have to learn about topics that they might or might not like and whatever precious little time is left at the end of the day is spent in playing games, which essentially leaves them with hardly any energy. They end up going to sleep the minute their head hits the pillow.

Even when they are sent to camps, the focus is more on developing their physical skills, which is quite good. They love to appreciate the outdoors, learn new skills such as horse riding or trekking and also learn to respect nature. However, while they are enjoying themselves physically, hardly anything is done to massage the creative side of their brains. If you are one such parent that has a child with good reading and writing skills or even has a child that lacks the confidence to read, write or speak clearly on any topic then you should definitely consider sending your child to writing camps or workshops so that their creativity can be brought out in a structured manner.

Often children have excellent creative thoughts but get all muddled up while putting it on paper or even while speaking in front of an audience. Children writing camps can help them put their thoughts in perspective first, which would be followed by writing and going through those penned thoughts again to seek out any errors. This will help the child to turn his or her creativity into a well-worded and perfectly-written essay, article or even a poem. Once a child achieves this level of writing clearly then confidence levels will receive a boost and the child will also be able to speak with confidence. Even an unwilling or unenthusiastic child can quickly turn into a writer bursting with ideas and energy at such writing camps due to the presence of experienced teachers that lovingly bring the best out of your child with gentle persuasion. The camps combine writing with pleasure in the form of writing games, solving word puzzles, designing posters, and writing on varied topics including adventure.

Your child will be kept happily busy throughout the period spent at the workshop and this relaxed state of mind will enable creativity to burst out in many wonderful colors. Your child will be able to express his or her thoughts in an expressive and planned manner and you too will notice a positive difference in your child after just a few sessions. These camps have great flexibility and you can send your child on an hourly basis after school, on weekends or during their summer or winter holidays. The Internet has also ushered in online writing camps where your child can send his or her assignments through email and get guidance from the teacher by return mail.

In addition to the physical development of your child, it is also important to ensure that your child develops mentally. Children writing camps help children to open up their minds and express their creativity by turning a blank sheet of paper into a well-thought and well-written collection of words instead of a verbal collage of confusion. You can use the Internet and choose a writing camp that best suits the interests of your child so as to help him or her grow into a confident and informed adult.

Also read: Ways by Helene Goldnadel to Get Your Kids to Write

How to Raise a Child With High Self-Esteem? Helene Goldnadel Explains

Parents' words and behaviour have an enormous impact on child's self-esteem (SE) and self-confidence (SC). Carefully chose your words and watch what your behaviour communicates to your child. Kids require a healthy SE in order to have high SC. Only when kids think positively of themselves can they accept their achievements for what they are.

So what can you do to start raising your child's SE right away? It's simple!

Here are a few ideas by Helene Goldnadel to get you started. Grab a pen and paper and think about how you typically relate to your child as you read each point. Draw a line down the middle of the paper. On one side write down the typical wording you use (call it typical column) and on the other write down better, more encouraging words you can use instead (call it positive column) when communicating with your child. Write them down and study them!!! This way you will be able to recall the right words when you need them (even when you are tired, running on a short fuse, or caught off guard).

1) Encouraging comments: Even if your child didn't succeed, always provide encouraging comments first (e.g., "That was a really good try, I liked your initiative and novel approach."). It can be difficult to provide positive feedback, however when she obviously didn't put in the effort required but regular comments like "You could have done better," "That wasn't done that well" can and will lead to feelings of 'nothing I do is ever good enough.' This belief (and others like it) is conditioned once she continues to receive these types of feedback. Start off on a positive note and relate the good stuff first.

2) Connect the dots: Discuss the reasons for failure. If your child didn't put enough effort into the activity in question, it is important she understands failure was due to lack of preparation or not enough practice. This is different from believing it is her personal inability to be awesome. As such, your child is more likely to conclude "If I practice hard enough, I will be able to succeed," instead of "Doesn't matter how hard I try, I don't have the ability to learn." Let her know that not doing well was due to a poor choice and choices can always be changed. Comments like "You've got some natural talent. With extra practice you'll 'ace it' or "Some things really do require more effort to be done well, what can you do differently next time?" connect the dots for your kids. What is obvious to you may not be obvious to them.

3) Encourage independence: Independence produces feelings of mastery which increases SE. It is important, however to recognize when a task is too hard for your child. Not all activities are age appropriate. By providing a mix of independence and a helping hand you teach her to stretch her abilities but to also know when to get help. It also sends a message that it is OK to get help. Comments such as "Look how far you have gotten on your own. What did you learn? How did you ever think of that!?!? That is awesome! You know I have some ideas too. Can I share?" If your child asks to be left to it alone, let her continue on her own. Pushing unwanted help onto your child can lead her to conclude that you don't have faith in her abilities. Over time this can translate into feelings of inferiority. Leaving your kids to complete a task means you trust them enough to work it out on their own. Let them know you have fresh ideas when they are ready for them.

4) False beliefs: False beliefs are highly responsible for low SE and SC. Watch your kid's verbal and behavioural patterns (they are a clue to what is going on in the mind) and ask questions. Get to the bottom of things so you can understand your child's insecurity. Let's say you notice your child speak badly about herself when she receives a low grade, your conversation with her can go something like this: "Why do you speak so meanly to yourself when you get a low grade? What does this grade mean about you? Are grades the only way of measuring how smart you are (or good enough)? Is it fair for you to be mean to yourself based on your performance on this test? Why is it so important that I am happy with your grade? Would I love you more if you got a better grade? What makes you think that? Did I ever imply by accident that I would love you less if your grades were lower? Tell me so I don't make the mistake again.). The more you understand the root cause of the belief, the more you can help her.

5) Famous people and role models: Role models are always great inspiration. Having a role model (AKA hero) works even better when the person is from the same field as the child's interests (e.g., musician, visual artist, scientist, etc.,). If your child gives up before giving things a fair chance or tends to avoid things she thinks she can't do, provide examples of the struggles her hero went through and how she had to try many times before the hero achieved her goal (e.g., Thomas Edison tried 10 000 times before he got the electric lamp to work; Einstein was considered to have a learning disability (some even speculate autism) and was told he would never amount to much). The great thing about all these wonderful people is they all faced adversity but believed in themselves the entire way. This belief lead them to success.