in some cultures,children are often told that they can achieve anything if they try hard enough. what are the advantages and disadvantages of giving children this message?

It is not uncommon to see parents telling their

children

that they should be working hard to achieve

success

. On the face of it,

this

seems like a very positive message being sent to

children

, but is there a downside to

this

? That everything is achievable should one

work

hard enough is not essentially irrelevant. Diligence is no doubt one determining factor in

success

.

Children

, like anyone else, are likely to show a tendency for indolence and lose their enthusiasm at times. In

such

circumstances, a gentle reminder bringing to their attention the importance of hard

work

can go a long way and can help them to get back on the right track. It is true that intrinsic motivation is essential;

nevertheless

,

children

need to hear the pep talk from their parents from time to time to keep up the good

work

.

However

, it should

also

be borne in mind that the message in question suggests that hard

work

always equals

success

, but

this

is not always the case – not in the real world. Sometimes

success

eludes us no matter how hard we try.

This

is because there is a host of other factors at play in achieving what we aim for.

Children

sometimes fail to achieve what they want in spite of the efforts made; if parents continually highlight the importance of hard

work

as the main key to

success

,

children

are likely to feel undue pressure in the event of failure, thinking that there is something wrong with them;

this

can even adversely affect their self-esteem and self-image. In short, it is important that

children

be reminded of the importance of hard

work

on occasion,

although

this

needs to be done tactfully so as to avoid the potential negative psychological effects.