Help your child to be an achiever and confident

Bringing up a successful child takes more than providing her with books and other learning materials. You also need to cultivate simple habits for a healthy mindset that will enable her to maximise her potentials.

Apart from giving her the proper tools, instilling the right outlook and cultivating proper values, here are a couple of things you can do to give her the best possible start.

Know your child's potential

You have to know what your child has to offer before you can encourage him/her to be more. You also need to take into consideration their strengths and weaknesses. Are they good with numbers? Perhaps he/she has a knack for making things, painting or writing? Can he/she play musical instruments? Does he/she love sports? By understanding what your child has to offer, you can expose your child to activities that will showcase their abilities

Build the confidence

Always be your child's cheerleader. Avoid comparing your child to their siblings, or to other children. Make it a habit to cultivate confidence instead, by highlighting her best traits and offering the right amount of praise for her efforts. Pointing out the things she did well will encourage her to achieve and excel. It is also important to teach your child self-love. Help her appreciate her talents and her abilities. Help her believe in her problem solving skills and decision-making capabilities.

Teach your child the importance of failure

Even though all you ever want for your child is to succeed, it's also important that you talk to them about failure. Help them understand that every once in a while, not everything he/she does will go according to plan – and it's okay. Losing and failing are normal parts of life and your child needs to be able to have the emotional stability to pick themselves up every time they fail. Helping your child pull them together when things don't go according to plan will give them the motivation to try again.

Create productive routines

Simple things like going to bed and waking up at the same time every day or having a definite study period will help your child to understand the value of time and deadlines. It will also teach the child how to properly prioritise the things they need to accomplish during the day. Routines will also encourage your child to be more responsible about their choices.

Encourage healthy habits

Besides imparting productive routines, proper values and a positive outlook, It is also important that you nourish your child from within. Give them the proper nutrients that they need through a healthy diet. Deep-water fish with lots of calcium, fatty acids and Vitamin D are also great for your kids. These foods are also rich in brain-nutrients like DHA. Your child's brain grows to 90% of its adult size in the first five years of her life. During this period, it is essential that you give your child other DHA-rich food like milk.