Does your child keep a journal? There are many advantages to this habit. Read on.

The fast pace at which we lead our lives offers us no time to ruminate on our actions and their consequences. But by keeping a journal your child is forced to sit down and confront his actions. In addition, solutions to problems also often become apparent when the problems are in black and white. A journal also encourages you to write about your goals and aspirations, and helps to keep you focused. Although your child may be too young to have career aspirations as yet, the future is nearer than you think. Keeping a journal is a life-long habit which is often started in childhood. So, ten years down the line your child will be able to see things a lot more clearly after writing them down.

Various survey results show that people who write down their goals are much more likely to achieve them than those who don't. In a research conducted in Yale, only 5 percent of students of the class of 1953 wrote down their goals. And in 1973, twenty years later, this 5 percent owned 90 percent of the group's net worth. So one of the best things you would be teaching your child would be to write down his goals at every stage of life. So many people simply stumble through life without a plan. A few of these people strike it lucky, most of them don't. Others have a vague idea of what they want to do, and strive towards it in a general fashion. They are moderately successful. But those who write down their goals step-by-step are the ones who are most likely to shine. Encouraging your child to write a journal is a step in the 'write' direction.


In addition, keeping a journal also has these additional advantages:

Memory

By noting down the day's events in a journal every night, your child is forced to jog his memory as he recalls the events of the day. This exercise keeps the brain sharp and active, and it also increases memory. In fact, sitting down every evening and recalling the events of the day is a yogic exercise.

Privacy

Make sure you let your child know that his journal is his private property, and no one has the right to read it. In this manner, you will be inculcating a respect for privacy in your child. He learns that just as his privacy is respected, so also he will need to respect other people's right to privacy.

Honesty

Keeping a journal also encourages honesty, because rarely do people lie to their diary. Let your child know that there is really no point in lying as no one will be reading his diary but for himself.

Discipline

Sitting down every night and writing a page or two in your diary is a discipline by itself. Random writing every once in a while naturally does not lead to discipline, but it does lead to some great memories. But if your child is regular with his journal writing, he is likely to be regular with other matters as well.