Why Are Children Easily Frustrated - Part 3

Assalammualaikum all!

We have come to our third point in our mini series "Why Are Children Easily Frustrated?". Inshaa Allah, we will keep exploring reasons to why our children easily get frustrated and what can be done to improve the situation.

Let's see what the 3rd point says:

Do you remember when you were little, Mom and Dad would constantly and consistently remind us of a lot of things, like finishing up our homework on time, or reminding us that we need to go to bed no later than 9 o'clock? As children, these may seem as instructions or orders from parents. However, there is actually a very good reason to why parents instruct their children to complete certain chores on time or be somewhere at a certain time; this is practice for self-discipline.

Self-discipline is an important element in a child's development. Children with self-discipline are able to control impulsive behaviour, cope with emotions in a healthy way, and are able to make healthy choices for themselves. Children who do not learn self-discipline tend to struggle with managing healthy habits, school work, and time management. This might result in parents and teachers getting angry or disappointed at them, making them feeling sad and frustrated.

What can we do to help our children with self-discipline?

A great way to train self-discipline is to place structure in our children's day-to-day activities. Have some household rules that must be followed by everyone in the house with no exceptions. Practice the same consequences every time the rules are broken. This will teach children to expect what is coming and aid them to make better decisions in future.

Placing structure comes hand-in-hand with education. Education here means letting them know the reasons behind every rule so that they are able to make better decisions. For example, children need to know they can only have one cookie a day because too much sugar is bad for them, not because "Mom told me to do so". In the long run, this encourages children to question things as they grow up instead of just blindly following something.

May Allah bless our effort and deeds, inshaa Allah.