Tips for getting kids to practice and work harder

Edward Hallowell, MD, EdD Psychiatrist, and Author, shares advice for parents on a few techniques that will teach your kids the cycle of excellence through practice and hard work
Tips For Getting Your Kids To Practice And Work Harder
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Tips for getting kids to practice and work harder

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Step 3 in the cycle of excellence is practice, or work. This is where typically parents, teachers, coaches jump in. Work harder. But if you've paid attention to steps 1 and 2, connect and play, then the child will naturally want to practice. They will want to suffer the pain to gain the gain. They'll want to go to the weight roomto workout to get better at football. They'll want to practice their piano in order to become a better pianist. They'll want to get up at 4:15 in the morning and go skating to become a better skater. They'll want to do it because it is emerging out of connection and play. So rather than saying, work harder, practice, you lead a child into wanting to do it and then you get the 100% buy-in. And that lasts a lifetime as opposed to saying, I can't wait to get out of school so I don't have to do this stupid stuff anymore. Practice will happen naturally if a child goes through steps 1 and 2 properly. And yes, indeed, without work there is no gain. There is no excellence. It's very important. The best way to get buy-in, to get practice, to get work, is not by simply demanding it. It's by paying attention to steps 1 and 2, connect and play.

Edward Hallowell, MD, EdD Psychiatrist, and Author, shares advice for parents on a few techniques that will teach your kids the cycle of excellence through practice and hard work

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Edward Hallowell, MD, EdD

Psychiatrist, ADHD Specialist, & Author

Edward (Ned) Hallowell, MD, EdD is a Harvard-trained Child and Adult Psychiatrist in practice in Sudbury, MA (outside Boston) and New York City. The author of 18 books, Dr. Hallowell specializes in learning differences such as ADHD and dyslexia, both of which he has himself.  He has also written extensively on general issues of parenting and living in our modern age. He lives in the Boston area with his wife of 23 years, Sue, and their three children, Lucy, Jack, and Tucker.

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