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*This is a collaborative post* Every parent wishes to raise kids with high confidence levels. However, some kids have low self-esteem; therefore, it is essential to equip them with sufficient confidence to survive and thrive.
Children go through a lot; hence they need basic life survival skills. For instance, cases of teen suicide continue to rise across the world. Many parents also put a lot of pressure on their kids to achieve academically. Therefore it is crucial to enhance the self-esteem of your kid.
Self-confidence creates a sense of competence in kids since confident kids require a realistic and positive perception of their abilities. This arises from their achievements, whether great or small.
You can establish and enhance your kids’ confidence levels by encouraging them, mainly when you refer to their specific abilities and efforts. The following are tips you may use to improve your kids’ confidence levels.
Instill Independence and Adventure
Kids with high self-confidence levels are always willing to try new things without the fear of failure. It would help if you considered setting up conditions whereby they can do things on their own. However, you should ensure that the situations are safe but give them space.
For instance, you can demonstrate to the kids how to prepare a sandwich and later let them do it independently. You should also train them to explore the world whether by taking to trips or having meals at a restaurant. This encourages them to learn essential life skills and exposes them to the external world.
For instance, when having a meal at a restaurant, they build confidence while eating in the presence of many people as they make use of the available restaurant quality napkins. Outings, day trips and trips with schoolmates and teammates also create confidence in children as they learn how to handle new circumstances.
Show your Kid Love
Although this may look obvious, it is one of the most crucial gifts you can give your kid. You do not have to be perfect since nobody is perfect. The essential thing is to make sure your child feels loved.
You should always make your kid feel loved and accepted by their family and other groups like a sports team, friends, schoolmates, and the general community. You should always tell your child sorry when you make a parenting mistake or yell at your child.
Hugging your child can also make a significant impact. Unconditional love creates a strong confidence foundation.
Give Praise Where Praise Is Due
It is essential to give your children positive feedback and praise since kids, especially the young ones, measure their achievements and worth by what their parents think. However, it would help if you were realistic in your credits.
For instance, if your kid fails to achieve something or has no talent in a specific skill, you should praise their efforts rather than results. It would be best to encourage your child that it is not a mistake to fail or imperfectly do everything. Advise them to keep on trying and practicing.
Help Your Kids in Setting Realistic Goals
Although a child needs to aim higher, the goals should be realistic. For instance, when your kids play soccer, it is okay to think that they will join the Olympic team.
However, if they fail to make it to the varsity team in high school and still maintain their Olympic dream, you should help them focus on more realistic soccer goals.
It would help if you guided your kids in setting realistic objectives to avoid the failure feeling. If the goals are long-term, consider discussing more achievable short-term steps.
Develop Positive-self-Talk and Self-Love
It is crucial first to love yourself first before training your kids to love themselves. You can develop this habit by praising and rewarding yourself when you perform well. Regardless of the achievement, like winning a marathon or getting a job promotion, it is essential to celebrate your kids’ accomplishments.
Share the efforts and the skills needed to achieve the accomplishments. You can also reaffirm and remind your kids’ talents and encourage them to develop and use them.
Teach them Resilience
Nobody achieves their goals all the time since there will always be failure and setbacks, pain and criticism. Therefore, you should train your kids to use their losses as learning experiences, and they should not dwell on them as disappointments and failures.
Although it is crucial to encourage your children to keep trying, it is also essential to acknowledge their feelings. This helps your kids trust and believe their feelings and feel more comfortable sharing them with other people.
Teaching them to uphold their spirits reassures children that setbacks are part of life and are also manageable. For instance, if your kids perform poorly in a test, do not discourage them but discuss the step they need to take to better their results. When they succeed, they will be very proud of their achievements.
Encourage them to Participate in Sport and Other Physical Activities
Sports and physical activities are essential in enhancing the physical well-being of both girls and boys and boosting their confidence. Sports encourages kids to learn that they can practice, improve and realize their objectives.
Additionally, sports also help kids make new friends, learn the teamwork spirit, realize their strengths, accept their weaknesses, and handle defeat.
Support Their Pursuit of Passion
Every person has a talent or good at something. Therefore, it is essential to help your kids discover their skills or what they are usually good at. As a parent, you should always respect your kids’ interests, whether you like the interests or not.
It will help if you praise your child when they make any achievement in their pursuit. For instance, if your son loves playing guitar, support him as long as it does not interfere with their essential responsibilities like schooling.
Set Rules and Be Consistent
Kids are more confident when they understand who is in control and what to expect. Imposing rules enable your kid to understand what they can do and not do, and they will always be confident about it. However, rules vary based on the family’s setup and age group.
Coach Your Child’s Relationship Skills
Confidence in a relationship is crucial in enhancing your child’s confidence. The relationship between a child and a parent is the most essential. However, it would help if you also taught your kids how to relate with their friends, schoolmates, and the general public.
Conclusion
Self-esteem is a very crucial element for both kids and adults. Therefore it is essential to build and improve your kid’s confidence to enhance their survival and success. The above tips can help you in boosting your kids’ confidence.