Building self-esteem is one of the most crucial parts of child development. How your children act as an adult or how they do in social, emotional, and behavioral factors is affected by how they built their self-esteem as a child. It also affects how they handle peer pressure, setbacks, and other challenges in life.
Having good self-esteem is also an excellent factor for having good mental health. Exhibiting immense confidence will lead to success and positive behavior towards other people.
Building Your Child’s Self Esteem
Understand What Healthy Self-Esteem Looks Like
Self-esteem is how children see themselves, including what they think they can do and what they think about themselves. The encouragement and support they receive from people they see as important to them will shape how they see themselves or their self-esteem. Often, family, parents, or teachers play a vital role in developing a child’s overall development.
Healthy self-esteem does not include traits like thinking or feeling that the world revolves around you and that you are more important than others. In other terms, self-esteem is not about being a narcissist, arrogant, or self-entitled individual.
Shape your child’s self-esteem by teaching him essential traits such as having a sense of gratitude, being charitable, having good manners, being kind, and having empathy.
Show Your Children Unconditional Love Each Day
Let your children feel how much you love them every day. Being loved is crucial for them to have a sense of belonging and security which is very important to how they view themselves.
Showing them your unconditional love will be key and will serve as a foundation for building strong and healthy relationships later on in their lives.
So do not forget to hug and kiss your children as you say goodbye to them when you leave for work or when they go to school.
Have time with them and read their favorite books. Express your love to them every single day by being by their side whenever they need you, like when they need to go to their favorite dentist or see a horror movie.
Have Fun By Playing Together
Show your children that you value their company by spending time with them and playing with them. This way, they will realize that you love being with them. Having fun with your children does not only benefit them, but it also makes you happy.
Playing with your children will help develop their confidence, which is vital in forming social bonds later on in life.
Playing with them also reduced signs of anxiety and depression while increasing the chance of being happy.
Assign Tasks And Responsibilities
Give your children tasks and responsibilities applicable to their age to give them a sense of accomplishment and purpose. It is essential to make them feel that you appreciate their effort even if they don’t accomplish their tasks perfectly.
Praise them for the little things they accomplish and tell them that they’ll get better at things over time. Responsibilities will also give them a sense of control on their own. And as they get older, increase the level of their duties in the house. Doing so will make a huge impact on building their confidence.
Encourage Them To Be Independent.
By the time children enter the elementary stage, this is the time where independence starts growing fast. And when they reach middle school, they will more likely spend more time alone.
Teach your children to become independent as they grow up. If they have problems in school, encourage them to talk to their teachers. Let them organize their homework and do their school work according to their preferences.
Let your children do things on their own it will positively impact their self-esteem and teach them how things really work.
Do Not Insult Your Children.
Most of the time, your children will misbehave and do something that frustrates you and makes you angry. Some parents insult their child especially when they are tired. Control yourself and separate their behavior from them. You are human, and so are them. These things are normal but do not name call or insult them.
It is much better to talk to them with respect. Avoid yelling at your kids; this will negatively impact their mental health. Explain to them or make them understand why what they did is terrible. Don’t just yell at them without them knowing why.
Make sure to show your child how much you appreciate them. Simple words of encouragement like “Good job” or “I am proud of you” can make a huge difference in their lives. Confidence starts at home. When kids are raised by their parents to be self-reliant, they become more prepared to face the harsh realities of the world.