Happiness (2): What Makes Children Happy?

What, then, makes children happy? In the long term, the basic ingredients that make children happy during childhood seem to be the same ones that help them to become happy adults: a secure relationship with parents gives the base to confidently explore the world and develop a sense of mastery and recognition, all important components in the recipe for happiness. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/body-mind/childhood-youth/childhood-and-youth-studies/childhood/children-and-happiness#:~:text=While%20relationships%20are%20extremely%20important,notice%20and%20appreciate%20these%20skills.

How To Raise Happy Children

https://time.com/35496/how-to-raise-happy-kids-10-steps-backed-by-science/

Eric Barker (Author of ‘Barking Up The Wrong Tree’), lists the following:

• Get Happy Yourself
• Teach Them To Build Relationships
• Expect Effort, Not Perfection
• Teach Optimism
• Teach Emotional Intelligence
• Form Happiness Habits
• Teach Self-Discipline
• More Playtime
• Rig Their Environment For Happiness
• Eat Dinner Together

Developing A Sense Of Mastery Through Creativity

“Creativity is a mindset; a combination of curiosity, imagination, collaboration, discipline and persistence.

(Juliette Saumande, who is a creative associate with Creative Schools – one strand of Creative Ireland, a five-year Government programme with the stated aim to connect people, creativity and wellbeing.)

Creativity is good for a child’s mental well being. You can find creativity through many things… What is important is that you enjoy the process and not just the end product. You learn new skills through being creative, and gaining mastery over something new is good for a child’s self-esteem, and reinforces good feelings about themselves.

Psychotherapist and author Joanna Fortune says, “The psycho-social benefits that creative play fuels are numerous, including critical thinking, solution-focused thinking, flexibility and adaptability. Children who are creative tend not only to be more empathic, because they are able to imagine and wonder from other people’s points of view, but they are never “bored” either, she says. They are always able to come up with something to do – boredom is a route to creativity.”

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/parenting/how-to-raise-a-creative-child-who-s-also-happy-empathetic-and-imaginative-1.4713013