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How to raise a Successful Child? Tips and Advice from Successful People

From newborns who do not sleep through the night to those lovely yet destructive toddlers, let’s not even talk about the terrible twos. Figuring out how to handle social pressures, screen time, and bedtime for older children. Teenagers with all the raging hormones.

Parenting can be challenging at times, regardless of age or stage. There is an entire industry devoted to parenting books that are intended to instruct us on what we should be doing since most of us are dedicated to trying to get it right.

While some parenting books and experts can provide some sound counsel, there is actually another unexpected source of parenting information available. Yes, we’re referring to asking our favourite famous parents for parenting guidance. Though we assume that successful people have parenting figured out, you’d be surprised to know that they too have their own challenges but ultimately they’ve managed to raise good children which is the greatest success. So how do you raise a successful child according to them?

1. According to Jennifer Garner encouraging kids to feel their emotions is important

Jennifer Garner by Karon Liu Karon Liu from

Jennifer Garner often comes off as one of the most authentic mothers in Hollywood, and we admire what she had to say about how crucial it is to allow kids experience their emotions.

“Our kids need to be allowed to have a bad day. And you need to show them that it’s okay to have a whole range of emotions. You should have it all 鈥� rage and anger and sadness, so there is a lot of room for joy and happiness as well.”

Successful children need to understand that having sad emotions doesn’t mean that they’re not good people. This in turn arms them with skills that enable them to manage their emotions effectively as they’ll understand what they’re going through. As leaders or employees this is an important skill to have as it is important to live harmoniously with others. 

2. Angelina Jolie says that kids need honesty, not perfection

Angelina Jolie by Gage Skidmore from

The fact that Angelina Jolie clearly enjoys being a mother shows that she has a strong understanding of what children actually require from their parents, even though her particular parenting situation may not be representative of what most of us go through.

She gently reminded parents who were struggling with the overwhelming reality of trying to parent in these uncharted times that all children need is honesty. 

“It is a lovely thing to discover that your children don’t want you perfect. They just want you honest. And do your best.”

Successful children in general are true to themselves, they are able to analyze themselves and know what to do especially when dealing with failures and disappointments. 

3. Magnus Carlsen’s father says that kid’s talents must be nurtured

Magnus Carlsen by Andreas Kontokanis from

Magnus Carlsen, a Norwegian chess prodigy, demonstrated a special talent for patiently solving complex Lego structures and puzzles at a young age. In order to introduce Carlsen to the game of chess, his father reasoned that these abilities would be a good fit. A time came when Carlsen’s potential was so apparent that his parents began taking him to chess competitions. They noticed that their son had a distinct set of related skills, and they urged him to take up a hobby that would capitalise on those skills.

Every child is born with some abilities that are more developed than others. Possessing the capacity to think abstractly and in multiple dimensions, your child may excel in the spatial domain. Or perhaps they have a natural aptitude for math and are able to think critically and conduct scientific research on problems. Always keep an eye out for your child’s natural talent, and then work with them to develop it.

4. Jay Z says that a loving environment is key 

Being icons of all time, Jay-Z and Beyonc茅 can undoubtedly provide for their three children in any way. But Jay-advice Z’s for other parents is much easier to follow and doesn’t call for parents to be extremely affluent or well-known.

He revealed what he thought the core purpose of parenting ought to be in an interview with

“[We just need to] make sure we provide a loving environment, be very attentive to who they want to be. It’s easy for us as human beings to want our children to do certain things, but we have no idea. We’re just guides.”

Part of raising successful children is allowing them to thrive in an environment that nurtures and constantly waters their needs. Though it is quite common for parents to want to control children and their destinies it is wiser to support their dreams, ambitions and guidance. 

5. Michelle Obama has a few tips for parents who want self-reliant children

Michelle Obama by Joyce N. Boghosian from

Michelle Obama is not only one of our favourite first ladies ever, but she also always strikes us as a great mom friend who wouldn’t be afraid to tell it like it is when it comes to the significance of being intentional about the habits we want our children to have. Parenting is about playing the long game, Michelle emphasised in a podcast interview with her own mother.

“If you are looking for a child to be self-reliant when they’re 21, 22, you have to make them practice that as early as 5 or 6 or 7 years old. If you don’t teach a kid how to wake up on their own when they’re young, yeah, you could be waking them up for the rest of their lives because you don’t make them practice it.”

Practice does make perfect and this is the only way to attain success. Teaching children to be self-reliant is part of building their access, though it’s tempting to spoon-feed our children we need to give them the resources and confidence that they need to be self-reliant so that they learn that it is only through their own effort and discipline that they’ll be successful. 

6. Mindy Kaling accepts that it takes a village to raise successful children, especially as a single mum

Mindy Kaling by Claire Leahy from

The single mother of a son and a daughter, Mindy Kaling, has a terrific piece of advice for fellow single parents:

“Stop feeling guilty for needing and wanting help! Truly, being a single mother requires a village. Although my two children’s parents are me, there are also other family members, friends, and nannies who look after them.”

she .

“I couldn’t do it without the village. Absolving myself of guilt for depending on others has been the biggest piece of advice that has helped me.”

This is key in raising successful children especially when you’re a single parent. Surround your children with people who are not only successful but take the time to advice your kids and teach them important lessons such as hard work.

7. Bill Gates has tips on hard work

Bill Gates by United States Department of Health and Human Services from

Parents of gifted children set an example by spending years honing their craft, and they make sure their children are paying attention. The co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, wrote about his father’s work ethic in a from 2020:

鈥淗e was one of the hardest-working and most respected lawyers in Seattle, as well as a major civic leader in our region. […]. He was judicious and serious about learning.鈥�

Gates’ father instilled in his children the idea that success required effort. Show your children that perseverance pays off, that nothing comes to you “for free,” and that taking shortcuts will not enable you to achieve your goals.

8. Drew Barrymore on making children appreciate hard work

Drew Barrymore by www.GlynLowe.com from

Drew Barrymore is a working mom of two who, like many of us, juggles motherhood and work. She advises other working mothers not to view their jobs as an enemy. When you go to work complaining, your children assume that work is this horrible place where people are forced to go to. Drew Barrymore shared her philosophy saying:

“I don’t say, ‘I have to go work,’ with a grimace on my face because I fear it will make [my kids] feel negative about something a lot of moms must do to provide,”

“My friend once said, ‘Never make your child feel like work is the bad thing taking you away from them,’ and I realized a lot of us tend to do that to try to make our kids feel better. I try a way to empower myself and my kids into something more positive. I don’t blame work, I own the responsibility.”

9. According to Viola Davis parents should share their successes and failures with their kids

We often put a lot of pressure on ourselves as parents because we want our kids to see us as these superheroes who can do no wrong. By doing so we create unrealistic expectations for our kids and when they encounter challenges they’ll assume that they are weak for not being able to cope with stressful situations. Instead, Viola Davis’s parenting advice is to not be a mystery to our children. 

She said: “I will not be a mystery to my daughter. She will know me and I will share my stories with her 鈥� the stories of failure, shame, and accomplishment. She will know she’s not alone in that wilderness.”

A big part of success is also making mistakes and failing but most importantly, learning from our mistakes and doing something about it is how successful children are raised. Reminding our kids that we are human beings who have been able to overcome we are teaching them that if mummy and daddy can do it then so can we. 

10. Glennon Doyle says that parents should remind their kids that life is not safe

Glennon-Doyle by Dahlia4519 from

Writer, podcaster, and all-around advocate for women who aren’t afraid to get authentic and messy, Glennon Doyle, has the mic drop on what we should all be telling our children.

“Life is not safe, and so our task is not to promise our kids there will be no turbulence. It’s to assure them that when the turbulence comes, we will all hold hands and get through it together,” she said.

“We do not promise them a heartache-free life, but we do assure them that the slings and arrows won’t kill them. In fact, they will make them kinder, wiser, and more resilient. We look them right in the eye, point them to their pain, and say, ‘Don’t be afraid, baby. You were born to do this.”

As much as we want to protect our children by shielding them and not allowing them to see the world as it truly is, this is unrealistic. To raise successful children it is important to let them know that life is not a straight line but that when it does get crooked, whatever they face as long as you’re there you will support them. As life is seasonal, successful children are taught to embrace both the good and bad seasons, in all seasons they must know that they have what it takes to overcome the challenges. 

You can also read 10 Things Kids Actually Need from their Parents