A strong sense of self-worth is essential for children as they grow into adults. Here are five ways to help your child strengthen their self-esteem
Parenting can be the most stressful, pain-in-the-ass job on the planet. However, it can also be the most rewarding one, by far. Bringing up children and passing on the things you’ve come to know in your own life is one of the most fulfilling goals that you can live up to, and gives many people a stronger sense of purpose, once they’ve had kids.
Still, there are plenty of things that can go wrong when it comes to raising children. You can’t possibly be there for them through every stage of growing up. For this reason, it’s important to raise children who are confident and learn to take care of themselves in new and frightening situations. This means lifting their self-esteem as they grow up. Here are some tips that you can use to strengthen your child’s self-esteem, day by day…
PUSH THEM TO LEARN USEFUL ABILITIES
It’s a lot easier for people to have a strong opinion of themselves when they actually have real skills and confidence in those skills. The tricky part, though, is that kids don’t really know how to do anything. They’re a clean slate, a blank canvas! For this reason, always make sure that you’re taking the time, when they’re growing up, to teach them how to do new things that are going to be useful in their future. It’s tempting to just take care of things yourself. After all, you could probably do the laundry much faster yourself. Teaching your children the basics of laundry and to do the same task will take a lot more time and effort (not to mention re-doing the job after they’ve finished, most of the time). However, it’s an essential part of your child’s development.
Don’t wait to show them things. For example, start teaching them to drive as soon as they are able to (this will be a massive boost to their confidence). If their friends are all learning to do things before them, then it can be easy to feel inadequate and difficult to build up self-esteem.
ALLOW THEM TO DEVELOP THEIR OWN INDEPENDENCE
At the end of the day, your kids are going to grow up and make decisions without consulting you, and they are going to do this a long time before you feel they are ready, and you’re probably right! However, this is an integral part of the growing-up process. At some point, you’re simply going to have to let go and let them make their own decisions. Allow your children to gain a sense of independence at a young age, so that they can have the independent mindset that allows them to make wise decisions when the time comes for them to go out on their own.
PROMOTE PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES
Nowadays, it’s all too common for children to stay all day indoors. This isn’t to knock kids today, as it is more a sign of the times than anything, but there are real benefits to spending your childhood getting outside and physically doing things! Children who play outside are healthier and have an easier time doing physical activities, such as sports and dance. Playing outside also offers children the chance to socialize with other children and learn how to get along with new people that they haven’t met before. This is an important skill that will lead to more self-esteem in the future.
LET THEM MAKE MISTAKES
It’s easy to break down self-esteem when you are attacking your children for mistakes that they make. It’s understandable to expect great things from your child, and to want them to push themselves to be better, but breaking them down for their failures while failing to raise them up for their successes is a quick way to build insecurities, rather than a confident attitude. Children have to understand that they’ll still be loved and encouraged despite mistakes. Help your child develop a growing mindset by understanding that they can learn from and improve through failures.
USE POSITIVE COMMUNICATION
When you talk to your kids, go the extra mile not to put them down or make them feel insignificant and insecure. Allow them to ask questions, no matter how obvious the answer might be, and make sure to encourage them each day positively. This is especially true when your kids become teenagers. Even though it might be harder to keep that positive disposition when you have teenagers (obviously, nobody likes being talked back to), it is twice as imperative to do so.
Parenting can be tough, but it doesn’t have to be. With these tips, not only will you boost and strengthen your children’s confidence and self-esteem, but you’ll also have children who will see the world as a much better place for everyone.
