Preparing children for the future: education for the modern world

Raising happy, healthy children in a complex world: tips for parents

When it comes to raising children, I believe it’s my duty as a father to educate them to become good and happy adults.

To be a good person means doing good in life. It means being kind and willing to help those in need. It means being loyal, keeping promises, and fulfilling commitments.

It means being honest and integral, but not extremist (as extremist people tend to become intolerant).

I hope that when they grow up, they will be generous, non-judgmental, and grateful towards life.

Of course, everything begins with the example I set with my own behavior. I remember when my father passed away, a good family friend told us: “congratulations on the father you’ve had”. I hope that when that day comes for me, someone will say the same thing to my children.

Making them good people requires working on their self-esteem.

To love others (and I’m referring to any way in which love can manifest towards another person), they must begin by loving themselves.

No complexes, fears, or mental limitations.

No feelings of guilt. They must learn that success and failure are two sides of the same coin, and that, except for those who are very stagnant and inactive (which I don’t wish for, because it’s like being dead while alive), they will experience these situations often, and most likely more of the latter than the former.

I hope they learn that failure is not the end, but a result that provides an opportunity for learning and improvement (with its corresponding cost).

And that success is just that, a success (obviously, with its reward), which can bring satisfaction at the moment of achievement, but nothing guarantees that it will be repeated in the future.

A success represents a milestone, the end of a stage, adventure, or process, and therefore, the beginning of another.

Ultimately, they must internalize the “culture of effort” as a way of life.