Self-esteem is important for any child’s development. Children need it to grow into a confident adults later in life. When children lack in self-esteem growing up, then they have a tougher time handling their everyday troubles.
In severe cases, children have resorted to committing suicide over low self-esteem issues.
In order for them to start building confidence in themselves, you’ll need to sit back and take a look at what you’re doing to encourage them in their lives.
Your child needs your guidance and nurturing all throughout his life. Parents often with their children focus too much on their children’s weaknesses and not enough on their strong points. This happens without even them realizing that they are doing it. However, by focusing too much on their weak spots, parents can damage their child’s self esteem.
No child, or adult for that matter, is perfect – and it is a mistake to constantly remind them of that every day. Children need to be taught right from wrong, but you shouldn’t constantly criticize them by telling them that they never get anything right.
You’re there to help them realize their mistakes, help them to learn from them, and show them how to change direction and turn something from a negative into a positive. Focusing on the mistakes they make will only lower their self-esteem and make them feel like they can’t do anything right.
Some children only hear the negative things and nothing about the positive. Sometimes parents forget to praise their children for the good things they do.
Taking a moment in a child’s life to praise them for something positive allows them to build confidence within themselves.
Sometimes children need to be given a little more responsibility so that they have sufficient opportunity to achieve something. Those who aren’t given the chance conclude that they not being good enough to do anything.
This starts to crush their spirit and will eventually control them to the point where they won’t want to try to achieve anything for fear of yet another failure. Give them some kind of responsibility that’s appropriate for their age and skill set.
Children look up to their parents. In their eyes, you’re superhuman, but that can sometimes result in low confidence in themselves when they start to think that they could never live up to you.
Don’t be afraid to let them know (and see) your imperfections. It’s a lot easier on them when they realize that you make mistakes, too. For families with more than one child, competition arises for their parent’s attention and affection.
Each child needs to be treated individually according to how you feel they need it, but thepraise and encouragement they receive should be equal in abundance. Help your child deal with the turmoil of everyday life as they move from childhood to adult by building their self- confidence a little bit each day. Giving a child a healthy self esteem is the best foundation they can have to become successful and confident as an adult
by Barbara White
