17 Apr Professionalism
What children need to learn
Do you think children need to learn about professionalism at a young age?
Professionalism isn’t something that happens at a certain age. Professionalism develops and is instilled in a person regardless of age, just like every character trait.
In learning about professionalism and what it is, children discover that professionalism contributes to leadership qualities.
Professionalism is about having specific beliefs, behaviours and attitudes that include respect, responsibility and competence in a particular job or activity.
Regardless of the setting, be it at home, on the playground, or in school, teaching children to treat people with respect and courtesy is a valuable lesson.
Teaching children about character traits such as professionalism and providing them with the necessary knowledge can promote positive growth in humanity. Each positive step taken contributes to reducing negative behaviour, such as bullying.
Bullying frequently occurs in the schoolyard. However, if children were taught to consistently treat everyone with respect and courtesy, regardless of whether or not they were friends, it would create a positive impact in any environment.
A starting point is teaching children that we are all different and have different gifts to offer the world. Share with your child about experiences you have had. For example, historically, some students were targeted for their culture or interests, such as computers, resulting in them being bullied.
As your child takes on school projects or learns new skills, it is important to encourage them to strive for excellence. As their guide, teacher, and mentor, praise them for their progress and offer constructive feedback for areas that need improvement. Avoid criticism and instead focus on sharing how they can enhance their task in the future.
Allow your child to make mistakes and let them know that you make mistakes too and that mistakes are life lessons that are helpful to learn from.
Here are 3 ways you can encourage your child to practice professionalism are:
1. Treat everyone with respect and courtesy
2. Look people in the eye when you say hello or speak to them
3. Being honest and doing the right thing, even when it’s hard
The challenging thing about parenting is that you are always their role model so whatever you teach your child is what they will observe in you too.
Children are honest and will pull you up for asking them to do something that you are not doing yourself. You’ve never had a child the age of your eldest child before, and even if you have, you haven’t had a child with the same personality as your youngest child. Everyone is unique, and every person has special gifts to offer the world – even if we don’t know what they are yet.
Let your child know that you are striving to practice professionalism too and that it’s a constant effort to be a better parent, person, or whatever your professional role in life is, on an everyday basis and that this is something that mindful people do.
While professionalism is not a label you give yourself, it is being aware of your behaviours and attitudes and hopefully is something that others will see in you.
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