Improve Your Child’s Self-Esteem With These Tips

Self-esteem is how people feel about themselves. To have positive self-esteem, children need love and appreciation. This can come in the form of words such as saying "I love you," actions like a pat on the back, or a modeling behavior of what positive self-esteem looks like.

Children watch what their parents do and listen to what they say, impacting how they feel about themselves. For this reason, kids need to hear that they are doing well and that their parents love them. Recognizing positive behaviors and telling them that you've notices they've done something good is crucial.

According to a presentation by Clarity Child Guidance Center about how to build self-esteem in children, parents play an essential role in helping to develop a child's self-love. For this reason, staying in contact with your child and being active in their life is going a long way in helping build self-confidence.

Things That Kids With Good Self-Esteem Do

-Act independently: Kids with good self-esteem try things on their own. They feel confident in attempting a new task and are excited about that.

-Take responsibility for their actions: They understand that they make mistakes and can say they're sorry and move on.

-Manage conflicts appropriately: They don't avoid conflicts, but they don't seek them out either. If they upset someone or are upset with someone, they know how to manage that.

-Tolerate frustration: If they get frustrated over schoolwork or in a basketball game, they have an outlet for how to manage that emotion positively. They work that frustration by either talking it out and voicing it to someone.

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-Handle peer pressure appropriately: This means that they are okay with who they are and understand that sometimes friends will ask them to do things that are not okay and know how to say no.

-Take on new challenges: They are not afraid of trying something new and act out on their own.

-Express their emotions appropriately: If they're happy, they express that; if they're sad, they know what to do with sadness, and if they're angry, they don't express it violently.

What Parents Can Do To Boost Their Children’s Self-Esteem

If you see your children moving in a negative direction, you can guide them to do the right thing and help them build their self-esteem.

-Use positive statements: "Good job," "I like the way you did that," or, "I noticed that you cleaned your room today without me having to ask," are statements that can help them to develop positive self-esteem.

-Non-verbal language: A nod, a pat on the back, or a smile when doing something great is crucial.

-Be generous with praise: Unfortunately, other adults in children's lives can get caught up in what they're not doing right or the things they need to improve upon. Instead, compliment them.

-Teach positive self-statements: Redirect inaccurate or negative beliefs and help teach positive thinking. For example is they say, "I will never learn to read," you can redirect their way of thinking and tell them, "learning something new can be frustrating, but with persistence, you can achieve anything you want."

-Teach decision-making and problem solving: By letting your children make their own decisions and take responsibility for actions, you guide them to develop these skills.

-Use constructive criticism: There will be times when your child will make poor decisions, but instead of blaming, guide, and support them.

-Be an example: Recognize your mistakes and apologize to them if you were unfair or overreact.

With patience, love, and care, all children can develop great self-esteem.