Real benefits come along with smiling. As parents, the positive signals that come with a simple smile are worth considering, practicing, and teaching to our kids. Here are a few of the benefits:
- When you think of things that make you smile, you feel better immediately.
- Smiling calms down the stress response.
- The facial movements of smiling prompt you to evaluate the world more positively, independent from what you may actually feel inside.
- Smiling and the good feelings attached to smiling encourage you to pay more attention to potential opportunities.
- Smiling promotes confidence.
- Smiling is contagious. When you smile, you feel better and behave more positively, and you influence others around you to do the same.
- When you smile authentically, you let people know you are not threatening, which persuades them to be more open to you.
Because smiling sends positive signals, why not make it a family affair? Think of the “contagion” that could occur if everyone in the family learned how to tap into a few more smiles each day.