I've been thinking about that a lot myself too and I don't have a good answer yet, but I think the answer lies somewhere in leading by example and in showing practical ways to deal with a situation. Specially with the younger children, who usually mirror parents' behavior. How we react to certain situations is always teaching them how thy "are supposed" to react as well in similar situations. Instead of trying to teach them the theory alone when they are dealing with a negative emotion (which will be hard for them to grasp at this point) I'm thinking maybe we should offer the practical alternatives, supported by our own behavioral patterns - to which they are usually paying close attention to. Like Love said, even us adults can sometimes struggle with choosing our emotional responses, never mind children.
I have 2 little cousins, 3 and 7 y.o. respectively. They were playing in the living room when her parents and I were watching The Secret. Then when we were done watching the movie we talked about the law of attraction and apparently they weren't paying attention, they were just sitting there playing on the floor. However, the next day the 7 y.o. asked me to show her the movie again (even though she doesn't understand English), asked me a few questions and next thing you know she was teaching her "simplified" version of the law of attraction to other people, including other kids. She asked her mother to buy her a board so that she could build a vision board. She started manifesting. However, when it comes to dealing with her own emotions, that's a different story. And reminding her of the theory doesn't help at all. And I also noticed that she usually mirrors her mother's reactions - both positive and negative. So, considering this personal example I have, I think that the basic principles can be explained in theory and they understand them, but teaching them to use them takes leading by example and also showing them practical alternatives to dealing with their emotions. |