Every mom and dad want a successful future for their children. But what qualities should be developed in children? Foresight: the quality that you don’t hear much about, but what every child needs the most! First of all, we should try to understand what forecasting is and why it is so important.
We will tell you how to find the key to this skill and how to teach children to have foresight.
A forward-thinking person thinks about what they are doing now and the consequences this behavior will have. He is able to analyze any situation and live it mentally. This is a very special ability. People with it can achieve anything in life.
For very young school-age children, the thinking process is often disorganized. They think of everything that comes to mind. Your thoughts jump like rabbits. If this disorganization remains throughout their lives, it will create a host of problems during adulthood.
Is it possible to teach children to think ahead? Of course; it is possible and necessary. Everyone can choose what to think about and it is important to teach children to approach that choice consciously, from an early age.
Above all, it is necessary to teach children to think about what they are doing in the present moment. Tell the children as often as possible, “Let’s think about the best way to do it.” Discuss everything with your children; toys, homework, washing dishes, washing clothes.
Ask your child: “I have to wash these clothes, what should I think about?” Give the child a chance to respond, then explain in your own words: “I must not forget to wash light clothing separately from dark clothing. Also, wool clothing should not mix with other textures.”
Play the following game as often as possible: WHAT SHOULD YOU THINK ABOUT?
When you wake up in the morning, what should you think about? When you want to eat something, what should you think about? When you go for a walk, what should you think about? For example, when I go for a walk I should think about:
The weather and what clothes would be suitable; What toys am I going to play outside with, so that I can take them with me; Thinking who of my friends to invite. The most important part of this process is giving the child a chance to respond and praise their response. This will encourage them to think about what they are doing. You can give the child a colored token for each answer. Tell the child that he must receive at least 3 tokens to become a forward-thinking person.
When your child learns to think in this way, he will be able to play alone and concentrate for long periods of time. When the child grows up, he will be able to tackle any task with due concentration and tackle his task alone.
But foresight not only implies concentrating on the task at hand, it also requires the ability to think ahead, TO IMAGINE WHAT WILL HAPPEN. The first time a young child is introduced to the concept of consequence is when he is told not to touch a hot flame. But it is not possible for children to go through all the thousands of situations they may encounter during their lives. So this is where a magic word comes in handy: “IMAGINE.”
When you read a story to a child, end with a discussion, beginning with the word “Imagine.” “Imagine that a hen gave you a golden egg. What would you do with it?”
When playing or walking with the child, use the magic word “Imagine” as often as possible. “Imagine that you saw a ferocious dog. What would you do? Imagine that you had to cross the street on your own without traffic lights. What would you do?”
And the stories, as usual, will help to stimulate the child’s mind: “A bear cub was on his way to the shops. He had to cross the street. The crossing was far away and the cub was in a hurry to buy an ice cream, so he decided to run across the street. The bear cub looked to the right; there was a car far in the distance, so he took off running. Imagine what happened next … “
An example of a story to develop foresight in 3-5 year olds.
What should the young hare have thought? Hare mummy planted some cabbages in the garden. His little son helped his mom and watered the cabbages every day, while daddy hare built a fence around the garden. He nailed strong, smooth boards into the ground to prevent intruders from entering and eating the cabbages.
Everyone was happy when the cabbages grew, and mother hare said to her son:
“You’ve worked really hard; now you can relax and play for a while.”
The young hare jumped into the meadow behind the orchard. There was a tree stump next to the meadow, and the little hare began to play a happy tune with its paws. Suddenly, a kid from the forest appeared. He jumped for joy and cried:
“Hey, you’re really good at it. Drum music is great for jumping. But it’s kind of quiet. You need drumsticks to make it louder.”
The young hare looked around. The woods were on one side of the meadow and the orchard on the other. And the fence around the orchard was made of wonderful straight planks … The young hare ran to the fence and took out one of the sticks, but it was too fat, so he took out another ‘but that one was too heavy. In the end, the hare chose two light and strong sticks.
He tried drumming with them, and it was wonderful! The sound of the drums was so attractive that the kid began to dance. The little hare was ecstatic and jumped into the forest to show her friends how she could play the drum. Everyone praised the drummer and told him that he had a fantastic talent.
The young hare did not come home until evening.
Mother! he yelled from the door. “I can play the drums better than anyone, can I show you?”
“No, I am very upset. There is a disaster! Someone destroyed the fence of our garden,” replied Father Hare angrily.
“Yes, hordes of thieves squeezed through the hole in the fence to steal our cabbages. We lost half of our harvest before Daddy fixed the hole in the fence,” Mama Hare said with a sob.
The young hare turned bright red and hid her sticks behind her back.
“Mom always told me: think first and act later,” recalls the young hare.
Questions and tasks:
What should the young hare have thought? Any other ideas where I could have gotten a pair of fine drumsticks? Imagine there is a little girl who is worried about her doll getting cold in winter. She has no warm clothes for the doll, so she cuts off a piece of Mom’s coat to warm her up. Do you think the girl behaved correctly? How should it have behaved? Imagine that you and Mom have planted some seeds in the flowerbed next to the house. They have blossomed and everyone is happy. Then imagine that a child arrives and picks them up as a gift for his mother. Is this the correct way to behave? What should the boy have done?
When a child learns to think about what will happen before it happens, he will behave thoughtfully. This ability protects children from disappointments in childhood and plays a very important role in their lives when they grow up.