5 Ideas To Develop Your Child’s Self-Confidence

5 Ideas To Develop Your Child’s Self-Confidence

Besides a loving, safe surrounding and appropriate, supportive guidance in school, high self-esteem is one of the basics for a child’s mental health. However, kids who are praised by their family members a little too often can either develop constant pressure to try to be perfect. Or end up thinking they are perfect and superior to their peers and stop trying at all. Both can reflect terribly on their academic progress, social life, and character development.

So, we need to bear in mind that by over-praising our children, we’re doing more harm than good. Instead, there are better ways to help your child build their self-esteem from the early stages of their lives. We’ve listed 5 ideas to develop your child’s self-confidence.

1. Be their role model

To be someone your child will look up to, learn from and admire. You need to tend to your own self-esteem. If a parent shows signs of insecurity, mental instability, or fear of failure in front of the child. The child will more likely develop these issues as well and consequently, lack self-confidence and motivation. Particularly in the early stages of childhood, parents are their children’s heroes and role models. Therefore, work on boosting your self-esteem for the sake of both your and your child’s well-being.

2. Compliment them appropriately and moderately

As we previously mentioned, complimenting your children can easily get out of hand and turn into an unhealthy praise shower. With this thin ice, you have to walk on as a parent, it’s important to recognize your child’s success, but praise and reward them appropriately. Think about indirect praise, such as stars, badges, or little A’s on the fridge or a chore chart with their name. Through every one of their accomplishment, their self-esteem will improve – and therefore their competence and motivation as well.

3. Provide them with the freedom of choice

Although intervening in your child’s life may resolve some short-term issues. In the long run, it will very likely have a negative impact on your child’s self-confidence. Setting our kids free and letting them make decisions for themselves without any help, every once in a while, is ironically one of the best ways to help and empower them. Of course, you need to be careful and sometimes even preselect the potential choices beforehand. Making sure there is a reasonable set of options with which they can’t really go wrong. You can also make it a mutually beneficial and fun activity, such as switching their daily cartoon watching time on the iPad with browsing a lovely baby clothing store, letting them decide on their clothing style and add items to a shopping cart themselves. This will instil a sense of pride and self-confidence in them. Preparing them for an array of choices that they will have to make in the future. Ranging from the sports they want to practice through the music they want to listen to. Even to the choice friends, they’ll make.   

4. Help them set realistic goals

We’re constantly told to dream big and reach for the stars. This is what we naturally pass on to our kids as well. Letting the imagination go wild from time to time is more than oka. It’s especially helpful with kids as a means of fostering creativity. Aside from encouraging our kids to dream, we also need to teach them when and where to draw the line. Help your child set goals within their reach and abilities and thus provide them with opportunities to actually make their dreams come true, instead of supporting unrealistic expectations.

5. Play competitive games with them

Although playtime is perceived by children as fun only, it can also play a significant role in developing their social skills, self-control, and self-esteem. Joining your kid in sports activity is a good way to spend quality time together, motivate them to do better, and expose your child to healthy competition. Of course, always remind them about the joy of sports and the importance of taking part in the game over winning by asking them whether they had fun, instead of whether they won.

We all want the best for our children, but raising a family is demanding and challenging work. It takes effort, patience, and lots of love and support to raise a capable and confident kid. So, take note of these interesting and effective ways of nurturing your child’s confidence and self-esteem, leading them to greater independence and preparing them for an overwhelmingly big and crazy world out there once they grow up.