Confidence In Children – 8 Tips to Boost Their Self-Esteem
Want more confidence in children? Here are 8 tips to boost your child’s self esteem so they feel more confident than ever!
Let’s chat about confidence in children.
When it comes to raising well-adjusted children, it is important that they grow up to have a healthy self-esteem.
Self-esteem is defined as having confidence is one’s worth or abilities.
To be honest, self esteem is a quality you can never get enough of (we are speaking about healthy self-worth and trust in yourself – not conceitedness or an ultra over-inflated ego!)
On the other hand, the outcome for children who have low self-esteem isn’t quite as promising.
A low self–esteem is characterized by a lack of confidence and feeling badly about oneself.
People with low self–esteem often feel unlovable, awkward, fragile or incompetent and are easily offended or upset by others.
Now for the big news alert: As a parent, your child’s level of self-esteem is largely your responsibility.
Thankfully there is a lot you can do to make sure your child feels more confident and competent.
Children are by nature naturally sensitive and if they have a peer group that is less than desirable, this makes what you do at home matter tremendously.
It’s vital that your child have a reserve of self-esteem that can survive the unpleasantness of other kids.
Give your child the best chance to be happy and successful.
Use these strategies to help raise more confident kids (aka so your child feel good about himself):
CONFIDENCE IN CHILDREN
TIP # 1 – Love your child unconditionally.
Every child should believe he is loved unconditionally.
Every single child in this world!
Every child should believe that no matter what mistake he makes or failure he suffers that he is still loved unconditionally by his parents.
- Consider the impact it has on a child’s self-esteem when she believes she’s only loved when she behaves a certain way or achieves a certain result.
- This is the definition of conditional love and can lead to a child feeling lost and confused if they have to work so hard to receive the basic love they deserve.
CONFIDENCE IN CHILDREN
TIP # 2 – Help your child to set appropriate goals.
Few things are more beneficial to self-esteem than success.
Work if you can with your child to set appropriate and achievable goals.
- Begin with goals that are very easy to accomplish. This will help give your child a taste of success and the confidence boost that goes along with it.
- For example, a good goal for a young child might be to clean their room. This is something that is simple enough for her to achieve and will make her feel proud of herself when she is done.
CONFIDENCE IN CHILDREN
TIP # 3 – Encourage persistence.
Success and persistence go hand-in-hand.
Find courage in your child to be persistent and you are showing him how to be successful.
- Praise your child when they stick with a difficult challenge. Life will be tough at times so it’s so important that he or she learns never to give up.
- One way you can help your child is to set a good example. Show them what it means to persevere. Do it by not just talking the talk but walking the walk.
CONFIDENCE IN CHILDREN
TIP # 4 – Give your child choices.
It’s hard to have self-esteem when you don’t have any control over your life.
Give your child choices to give them the feeling of control.
This can be as simple as giving them two options for lunch or allowing them to choose what shoes they wear that day.
They need to feel as if they have some control over their life.
CONFIDENCE IN CHILDREN
TIP # 5 – Discourage perfection.
It’s a lot of pressure for an adult to feel like they need to be perfect, let alone a child.
Guess why?
Because there is no such thing as perfection!
Discourage your child from attempting to be perfect.
This is a game that no one can win.
Your child’s self-esteem will suffer when they realize that they can never be perfect.
- Show your child that you value effort and progress. These are things that anyone can achieve.
- They also need to know we are growing whenever we are making mistakes and learning from these errors. There is no need to do things perfectly all the time because this is an impossible goal.
CONFIDENCE IN CHILDREN
TIP # 6 – Avoid over-praising.
Your child knows when your praise is excessive.
They sense when you are being over-the-top when your compliments.
Instead you need to give praise where praise is due.
Also, praise your child for making a good effort.
Excessive praise that is uncalled for has been shown to have a negative effect on a child’s confidence.
CONFIDENCE IN CHILDREN
TIP # 7 – Allow your child to overhear you complimenting them.
A child gets a big boost to their self-esteem when they hear a parent complimenting them to another adult.
Their ears are big – assume they are always listening to you when you speak.
Your children are also always watching you.
Use that to your advantage.
Be a good role model.
Set a good example for them to follow.
CONFIDENCE IN CHILDREN
TIP # 8 – Take good care of yourself.
Self-care is another area where it’s important that you practice what you preach.
Take good care of yourself by nurturing your soul and taking care of both your physical and mental health and by doing so, you show your child that you are important.
They will consequently think self-care is something they should do too because they believe that they are important and should take care of themselves too.
You can model how to make themselves a priority.
Now there’s no doubt that a child with high self-esteem is happier and more confident.
Because we typically want the best for our children, it’s our responsibility to give our children as much self-esteem as possible.
What we do at home can have a huge impact on our children’s future.
Teach your children to love and believe in themselves, and they’ll reap the benefits throughout their lives.
-
Before You Go…
– See my EVERYTHING PAGE and grab a free gift > HERE
– Get instant access to EVERY COURSE I’ve ever created > HERE
– Listen to my INSPIRING LIFE PODCAST on Spotify or via Apple Podcasts.
– Or for biz owners, listen to LIFE COACH FOR BIZ MOMS Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
I’m Frances Vidakovic – a mindset & action coach for quietly ambitious women who want to stop overthinking and finally take aligned action. I help women achieve their goals and follow through on what matters, without sacrificing their sanity or soul.