Building healthy self-esteem and confidence in your kids is one of the greatest gifts you can give your child. A child that can confidently shake the hand of a new adult acquaintance, express a well-thought idea or opinion in a respectful way are empowering moments for a child, and lessons from which many adults could benefit! Healthy self-esteem and self-awareness can lead your child to become a confident, socially interactive and motivated young adult.
Why self-esteem is important
Self-esteem can be thought of as a person’s public comfort with their self worth and value. In children, self-esteem helps a child build a positive image of themselves. Children with good self-esteem tend to be motivated, easy going with other children and have increased social standing, empathy and compassion.
So here are a few very simple Do’s and Don’ts to address this very complex issue:
First the Don’ts – Let’s get these out on the table first, shall we?
1. Don’t Overestimate
Don’t ask too much. Being forced to face a problem for which they are not prepared can be too much. Level your expectations to their ability or just slightly above.
2. Don’t be a dictator
Don’t plan every moment of your child’s time. They need free time to accomplish their own challenges and just be kids. Do your part to help them enjoy their childhood and let them have some time and space just for themselves.
3. Don’t compare your kids to siblings or other kids
Each child has strengths and weaknesses, and no child should be made to feel unworthy because of poor performance. A
4. Don’t do everything for them. Let them figure it out…
Don’t dominate and dictate. Add challenges and positive reinforcement when it fits, and let your Little One captain their own ship. Sometimes that means watching them fail in order to learn the right lesson.
5. Don’t be a tough guy. Remember, they’re kids!
Challenging a child will naturally result in failures. Your kid might feel pretty bad if they don’t succeed at a challenge… they don’t need you piling on. Turn those moments of defeat into a teaching opportunity with a positive ending.
Next time, we’ll have a look at some of the great things you can do to help build a positive and reasonable self-image for your kids.
Love rules the day, every day.
Building and Improving Self-Esteem in Children
