Ideas for applying the PLS Potential concept at home:

• Notice your child’s interests and observe their natural abilities. Listen to what they talk about and how much enthusiasm they display when they talk about different activities or school subjects and watch what they do when they have free time.

• Encouraging your child to ‘apply themselves’ to whatever they are doing, i.e., school, extra-curricular activities; friendships, chores will help them get the most out of their experiences.

• Assist your child to think of a fun goal they would like to achieve within a short time, e.g., read a book. Meeting a goal can provide a positive energy surge of accomplishment.

• Be alert to possibilities. For example, if your child says they wish they could do something or achieve something use it as an opportunity to assist in creating a plan/goal, encourage them to write down actions they can take and implement a time frame and check in with them from time to time so help them stay focused on their goal.

• Acknowledge your child when they reach goals or steps within the goal, letting them know you are impressed that they set their mind to something and then went after it to achieve it. Acknowledgement for effort is key.

• Encouraging children to face and handle their own challenges and to realise their own abilities will help them to focus on what they need to improve on to reach their goals.

• Engage in conversations about the importance of practice and repetition to learn something or achieve a level of competence in something. The only way any of us learns a skill is through practice and repetition.

• Encourage your child to engage in positive self-talk such as ‘I can do this’, or ‘All I have to do is apply my focus and practise’.

• When setbacks occur, reflect on how you have both overcome challenges before and how you can again.