Self-Confidence – The Greatest Gift For Your Child

By Vikas Malkani, Founder of SoulKids

10 October 2106

What’s the best gift one can give to a child? I asked myself this question one day, many years ago…

Is it happiness, comforts of life, a good education, a supporting family, or fulfilling every desire the child has?

After much contemplation, I decided that the best gift one can give a child is the self-confidence, and the capability to raise their own self-belief when they need to.

In other words, if we are able to create a positive and self-confident child, we have done a large part of our work as parents.

www.soulkids.org

Let me give you my reasoning for this. There are 2 subjects I have studied deeply – happiness and success. Every human needs to experience these 2 outcomes in their life, for their life to feel fulfilled and worthy.

I have even written 2 best-selling books on these subjects – The Little Manual of Happiness and The Little Manual of Success. They are available here http://www.soulcentre.org/shop.html

One of my great realizations during my research was that for both success and happiness to manifest, one needs to develop a strong and positive self-esteem and build the capability to raise this self-confidence by choice when needed.

Life presents many challenges, and these storms come when we least expect them; if we don’t have a strong self-belief, we will be emotionally shaken and depressed and thus not able to tackle life with the optimal actions we must. Since actions bring results, without a strong self-confidence we are unable to create or enjoy an optimal life.

All successful children develop high self-esteem, and this is what sees them through difficult times when things and results are not what they expect.

Self-confidence builds resilience.

All happy children also demonstrate high and positive self-confidence. This allows them to protect their own happiness when the world around them does not offer the approval we seek.

Self-confidence builds an inner strength that can easily sail through the external storms of life.

For a happy and successful life, a high self-confidence is essential. The best gift you can give your child is training which empowers them to become a positive and confident child, able to handle whatever life throws at them.

You can start by sending your child to a SoulKids class, and see the positive difference it makes in them.

Check out the latest SoulKids courses here http://www.soulkids.org/events

Or you can gift your child the ‘SoulKids Book of Happiness for Teens’ – by Vikas Malkani, another of my best-selling books written specially for teenagers.

You can purchase it here http://www.soulkids.org/shop.html

Build a self-confident child and you would have given them the best gift you possibly can as a parent.

SoulKids is an award winning training program that provides the complete menu of life-skills that your child will require to create a life of happiness and success. SoulKids life-skills supplement the academic education that a child receives.

Life-Skills for Children - SoulKids®

This life-skills training has been a family journey -  Vidhya Shailesh

3rd October 

About four years ago, while waiting for my "Meditation Made Simple" class to begin, I happened to take a look at the SoulKids® flyer. Always drawn to wisdom, I was intrigued. Back then my daughter was eight years old and I felt she needed some help with her self-confidence. The flyer looked promising and I decided to sign her up for the weekend.

www.soulkids.org

When I told her about it, I realized she was very anxious. I reassured her that it would be a lot of fun. The weekend came and it had a huge impact on her. She wouldn't stop talking about the stories and she was visibly happier. As the weeks went by, she would keep recalling some of the stories and lessons. Her favorite story was the sunflower and the rose because it taught her that she was special. She was clearly feeling more self-assured and knew how to manage her fears.

All the SoulKids® talk at home got my younger son very interested and excited so I signed him up when he was just five and a half years old. This time it was my turn to be nervous - he was after all very small. But once again, I needn't have worried because I had a very happy and excited little boy after the session.

Watching the changes in the children, I decided to go through the mentor training myself. I wanted to be able to support their new learning myself and like every other parent, be the best parent I could be. I knew as the children got older, it was only the nature of issues that would change and I wanted to be able to handle them well.

The mentor training opened my eyes to a whole new way of parenting. I learnt not to hand down my limiting beliefs to my children. They had a potential of their own and I learnt that it was this potential that needed to be brought out.

I certified as a mentor and subsequently started working with SoulCentre®, conducting their SoulKids® programs.

After all these years, my children still get excited every time we talk about SoulKids®. The stories and lessons are often still discussed at home.

SoulKids® has given us lessons for life. And it is one program that we as a family vouch for. We have benefitted from it tremendously as have several other children and adults. I am privileged to be able to spread the teachings to other children through the SoulKids® classes. It has truly been and shall continue to be a family journey!

Thank you SoulKids®.

Coaching for Children - 3 reasons how coaching can benefit your child

25 September 2016

Vidhya Shailesh, the SoulKids® Manager was recently asked for her top tips on coaching and how it can benefit your child.

The children who experience coaching at SoulKids® really do enjoy their “me“ time and also enjoy their new focus and points of action as a result.

www.soulkids.org

TIP #1

Coaching provides a platform for a child to speak one-on-one with their coach. It provides a safe, friendly and happy environment where the child can discuss any issues they might be faced with. Children develop a personal relationship with their coaches and know that they can speak with them freely without being judged. In this way, seemingly minor issues can get addressed way before they become too big.

TIP #2

Once a personal/friendly relationship has been established, coaches can guide the children using tested methodology and help address specific issues. Coaches focus on the natural strengths of the children and guide them towards success. Coaching focuses on building a child’s self-esteem and boosts their sense of self-worth. Children become more receptive and learn when the environment is positive and nurturing. Their mindset changes and they understand how they can create change for themselves.

TIP #3

Coaches can also provide specific tasks and set time-bound goals for the children. Once the children understand that they are accountable, they follow through with appropriate action. The tasks are manageable, achievable and help the children take responsibility for their own growth. An ongoing relationship ensures that the learning is sustained and continuous guidance is provided for their overall growth. The child's emotional and mental well-being is the coach's highest priority. 

Life-Skills – Enrichment Classes – Support Your Child

September 19th 2016

SoulKids offers essential life–skills that support your child to succeed in life. Academic training is provided in all schools, however this is not enough for a child to really succeed in today’s world.

www.soulkids.org

To be truly happy and successful in life the following skills are needed :

•  Communication skills

•  Presentation skills

•  Behavioral skills such as how to deal with emotions

•  An understanding of ones strengths

•  An understanding of areas that need support

•  Leadership

•  How to be a team player

•  Self-belief

•  Self-confidence and self-esteem

•  An understanding of how to bring out the best in ones self

•  An understanding of how to bring out the best in others

•  Authenticity and honesty

All of these skills are learnt at SoulKids through fun – games – stories and experience.

Imagine having these skills and being able to apply them. These skills really do create a well-rounded, happy and balanced child.

SoulKids prepares children for the future and this starts from the age of 6.

Children who attend SoulKids from a young age really do mature into confident, self assured adults, who bring out the best in themselves and in others.

SoulKids Mentors stay in touch with its graduates and so children know that they always have a trusted friend they can turn to – for any issues that may arise on their journey of life.

This is truly the best gift you can give to your child.

Mentorship programs are also available for children from the age of 10, to support them during the critical teenage years.

Interview with SoulKids® Mentor - Jesmin Tan

Sally has been out and about interviewing the newly graduated SoulKids® Mentors. She recently met up with SoulKids® Mentor Jesmin Tan.

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Sally Forrest: What brought you to SoulCentre® & SoulKids®?

Jesmin Tan: I was searching for a quality program to engage my son for the school holidays as I did not want him to just have fun and not gain any real learnings. While searching for such a program on Google, I came across SoulKids® and was instantly interested.

SoulKids® was a good balance for him to have fun, mix with different children from various nationalities and at the same time learn how to increase his emotional resilience through the practice of a positive mind-set.

S: What was your experience of the SoulKids® Mentor Training (for adults) and the SoulKids® Weekend (for children)?

J: The Mentor training with Vikas Malkani was mentally intense but it was a fantastic experience. The sessions were presented in a systematic manner with simple but powerful lessons and statements which provoked self-reflections. The training also helped me to focus on what was important and what to be mindful of as an adult and parent.

Many stories were shared which made the learnings even more impactful. Being able to put in practice what was learnt in the mentor training with the kids for the SoulKids® weekend was also an eye opening and awesome experience for me.

S: How has SoulKids® benefited you as an individual?

J: By attending the SoulKids® Mentor Training and the weekend with children, I have definitely become more reflective, mindful when I am parenting and more importantly I am also learning to walk the talk. I keep an open mind and am being positive in my day to day engagements.

S: What is your most important lesson from the SoulKids® training?

J: My most important lesson has been - Every individual has the potential to reach their best, as long as they believe in themselves, get a great mentor to guide them, learn and take action.

S: What are your hopes / dreams and visions going forward?

J: A commitment that I will be a better parent and individual. I also want to be able to share my experience and journey of SoulKids® with others in order to help them achieve their personal best.

Interview with SoulKids® Mentor - Avanti Kundalia

Sally has been out and about interviewing the newly graduated SoulKids® Mentors. She recently met up with SoulKids® Mentor Avanti Kundalia.

www.soulkids.org

Sally: Avanti, what brought you to SoulCentre and SoulKids? 

Avanti Kundalia: Serendipity!!! An ever-increasing thirst for connection to my inner soul, and a deep love for life and children brought me to SoulCentre. 

S: How did you hear about SoulKids? 

AK: In the final lap of another training I was attending at another location, I heard the word SoulKids being uttered from across the room. The name just stuck in my head – I googled it a few days later and the next thing I knew I was at the SoulKids Mentor Training introduction talk with Vikas Malkani, the creator of SoulKids! 

S: What have been your experiences at SoulKids Mentor Training and the SoulKids Weekend program?

AK: I came in with zero "expectations" really - just an earnest desire to learn how I could bring my innate talents and passion together, to teach kids and truly make a difference in the world!

The SoulKids Mentor Training with Vikas itself surpassed every possible expectation I could have had! It was comprehensive, detailed, and easy to grasp and put into action, and of course a whole lot of fun too. It was also beautiful to connect with like-minded people from all varied walks of life and of different nationalities.

I loved every minute of it and literally had withdrawal symptoms when it was over!!! The SoulKids weekend program validated for me the effectiveness of the intensive training we had just gone through and was 2 days of a true funfest – the best I have ever spent in my life and career with children!!! 

S: How has SoulKids changed you as an individual? 

AK: SoulKids reintroduced me to the wonderful, playful, joyful child within myself. It reminded me of the promise I was born with (Vikas always teaches that we are born with a promise of potential inside us, that’s waiting to be fulfilled). A Promise buried deep within, which when nurtured had the potential of taking me to the peak of my life experience. SoulKids assured me it's never too late to become who I came here to be! It gave me Hope and it showed me a path to get there. 

S: What’s your most important lesson from SoulKids Training?

AK: ‘Always say YES' & 'Never give up!’

I realized how totally I was cloaked in fear of rejection/ failure/ not being "ready" enough and how much I was standing in my own way!

But since the SoulKids Mentor training, by taking little baby steps, I am becoming more of a positive Yes-Woman, and no matter how impossible a dream had seemed in the past I have consciously begun to grow it promising myself to never give up no matter how long it takes!

Go Bruce Lee!!!

S: What are your hopes, dreams and visions going forward? 

AK: First and foremost, to stop going backward. To stop doubting the potential within myself or the support that life and others give me.

To nurture and develop fully this deep connection with my inner Self that SoulCentre has so gently yet emphatically brought back into my attention.

I truly believe that an exceptional life story begins in the details of a script that gets scripted in one's early years, and that this life script can be edited, enhanced, improved and made beautiful for every child by the right kind of mentor/ coach. And that is the kind of example I wish to be in the world - breathing and living wisdom, touching and transforming lives, one beautiful child at a time.

How to be more Confident - It all begins with Me

5^th September 2016

Imagine the joy of seeing your child walk confidently through life being able to handle any situation that life offers to them.

Parents and teachers are the main source of a child's self worth, and their first teachers.

Confidence skills can be taught from a young age and will remain with the child for life.

Here are a few tips on how to encourage your child to become more confident:

1) Encourage them to see their inner and outer strengths.

a) Outer strengths: For example praise them for dressing well, grooming well, showing a happy face etc. …

Use words and phrases that show the child that you appreciate what they have done.
For example:
"Mary I like the way you have co-ordinated your outfit today – all the colours match well"
"When you style your hair like that it really suits you and looks chic"

b) Inner strengths: name them and also reward good behaviour.

"Mary I love it when you share with others as it shows that you care"
"I love to hear the positive thoughts that you bring to the conversation"
"I admire the fact you are determined, focussed and take responsibility"

2) Ensure a child feels loved.
Hug them, hold their hand, write them notes and most importantly let them know they are loved.
It is wonderful to hear the words "I love you".
Include their name so that they know the love is for them.
For example;
"Ria, I love you."

3) Make their environment positive.
Each child should have a space of their own on which you can build a wall of appreciation for them. Include positive pictures, certificates, awards, and any good comments that you have received about the child. Use hand written comments and post them on the wall to keep it alive and exciting. If space is limited and your children all share one bedroom, then allocate a small space on the wall for each child. With the right mind-set and some creativity, any space can become magical for the child.

3 top tips that are easy to apply.

Knowing them is not enough – we must apply and take action.

Do let me know how your child feels once you have tried these out for 7 days …. Miracles will result.