What parents often forget to teach their children

Famous American professor and education reformer Eva Moskowitz shared that after several decades of working with parents and educating children, she noticed a common point among modern parents: they focus too much on teaching their children to clean their rooms, act responsibly, and do homework, but completely forget to teach their children how to enjoy life.

"Children naturally enjoy life, but many children who are happy as children grow up to be unhappy," says Moskowitz.

Experts say people are happiest when their lives are filled with meaningful activities. Yet today, media and advertising constantly send the message that "happiness comes from consumption."

Marketers tell people to treat themselves with their products. They try to make us believe that shopping is the ultimate reward and that happiness can only come from buying a fancy car or a bigger house.

Moskowitz advises parents not to make a habit of taking their children to stores where they run around pointing, “I want this,” “I want that.” Even if children aren’t directly exposed to a lot of advertising, they may be exposed to the culture that advertising creates. For example, their friends may be showing off the new toys they bought or the gifts they got for their birthdays.

Don't encourage your child to believe that giving them lots of gifts will bring them happiness. Giving gifts to show someone you care is not a bad idea, but many children today receive so many gifts that they are redundant.

You can use your birthday as an opportunity to reinforce values. Moskowitz's husband discourages gift-giving and instead asks his kids to share a memory of something they enjoyed doing as a family.

You should also work with your child to find meaningful gifts for your spouse, such as handmade cards, homemade cookies, or reciting a poem. Children need to understand that money gives them the opportunity to be happy, but that happiness cannot be earned by spending money.

Play a game or go into the kitchen with your child to show them how much fun things can be with a few simple, productive activities. Go to a museum to show them the joy of intellectual activity. If you can teach your child the value of these little things, their chances of happiness will increase immeasurably as they get older.