S is for Supports: Building Skills

 

Part of showing kindness to others is providing support for them in times of need. We want to be the friend who sits by their side, the listening ear at the other end of the phone and/or the neighbour who shows up with a shovel in hand when the snow is deep and they are left to clear it on their own. Everyone benefits from having supports in place, especially when they are real people who have got your back.  We are not meant to live in isolation of others but to work together in cooperation to strengthen each other.

When you are working with a child who is struggling with any skills, it is up to the adult to put supports in place to see them through and help them develop their skills to the highest potential possible. Some supports are simple and easy to implement and others are elaborate and take time to become effective. The type of support is variable.

For a gymnast, it may mean spotting them as they practice their routines.  For a swimmer, it may mean getting them to practice on time. For someone with delays in reading, it may mean reading book after book with them and hours of practice with sight words. Support may be more listening and less talking. It may mean providing a meal or a place to sleep in peace.  There are so many possibilities!

Once you have the supportive ways deeply ingrained in yourself, use them to set the example for the child(ren) in your life. Children learn from what they see. You can also provide them with opportunities to support others. Are they there for the classmate who got sick and is behind in class? Do they notice when their grandmother is tired and offer to help her with some chores? Are they ready to put their craft skills to use to make a card for someone who is sick or bereaved and would benefit from being cheered up? Find those opportunities for your children to engage in being supportive to others and encourage it over and over again. Again and again.  The result will be a world filled with more people who are good to each other, kind and supportive and that is the type of world we would all love to live in!

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