What to Do When a Child is Unwilling to Correct Mistakes?

What to Do When a Child is Unwilling to Correct Mistakes?

Preschool-age children are in the early stages of developing self-awareness, and they lack the ability to judge right from wrong. As a result, they mostly grow through making mistakes. One can imagine their mindset oscillating between praise and criticism, experiencing pride and frustration interchangeably. Such a mindset continues until school age when they can better adhere to behavioral guidelines.

Children repeatedly making mistakes and refusing to correct them is a challenging hurdle in their journey of growth. There are various reasons behind their unwillingness to change. Firstly, recognizing a mistake is easy, but rectifying it is hard. Rectification requires willpower and involves painful mental struggles; it's not merely a matter of saying it aloud. Secondly, many children now suffer from a "knowledge-action gap," where cognitive levels are relatively high but behavioral abilities lag behind. To foster the ability of children to correct their mistakes, rigorous training is essential. For instance, if a child makes a mistake, they should be asked to redo it until they get it right. Moreover, in communication with children, parents often come across as authoritarian, many times failing to realize that their mistake lies in being overly dominant, thus depriving children of freedom and confidence. Parents should not constrain the limitless potential of children with their own limited perspectives. While the saying goes, "There are rules for everything," in child education, it's more like "Too many rules hinder all progress." Excessive restrictions on a child's exploration of the world during their growth can easily suppress their creativity and free will. As a result, they might develop rigid behavior and excessive caution, hindering their potential for success.

The journey to child health is multifaceted. During infancy and toddlerhood, due to their lack of knowledge, their health relies solely on adults. Lacking self-care knowledge and self-management skills, they find it difficult to break bad habits and behaviors. This necessitates parents setting a good example with their own lifestyles and behaviors, nurturing a sense of health consciousness in children and exerting an indirect influence.

"Discomfort in maturity, comfort in immaturity." Providing appropriate pressure or necessary punishment to unruly children can push them out of their comfort zones, urging them to tap into their intelligence and potential. However, the method of punishment should be carefully chosen. Some parents, upon witnessing their child's mistakes, resort to physical punishment without understanding the reasons, which cannot make the child genuinely repent. When punishing a child, rules and procedures should be followed, and the child should be informed and involved in the rule-setting process. With established rules, if a child repeatedly makes the same mistake, they should be punished according to the rules, such as revoking certain privileges or rewards. For example, if a child is in the habit of throwing things or hitting playmates, their planned outings or treats could be canceled. Once the child's behavior improves, their privileges can be reinstated, and promises can be fulfilled. The objective is to make the child realize that if they vent their emotions recklessly, others' commitments can be easily revoked. For noisy or adventurous children, a sitting punishment can be given. They should sit in one place for 20 minutes, focusing on their thoughts. This helps them develop a sense of discipline and gradually calms them down. Regardless of the punishment method chosen, parents should communicate calmly and rationally with their child, avoiding threatening tones or angry attitudes, ensuring the child understands the well-intentioned nature of the correction and encouraging a willingness to change.