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A child’s self-esteem is very important. Every child should possess a healthy self-esteem. But nurturing it may seem a challenging task. “Self-esteem comes from having a sense of belonging, believing that we’re capable, and knowing our contributions are valued and worthwhile,” says family therapist Jane Nelsen, co-author of the Positive Discipline series. As a parent, your goal is to ensure your children develop a healthy self-esteem by respecting themselves and others around them.
Given below are a few ways to build your child’s self-esteem:
• Pay undivided attention
Take some time out and pay undivided attention to your child. This makes your child feel important. Make sure you listen to your child by maintaining eye contact.
• Provide unconditional love
Your child’s self-esteem grows when you shower unconditional love on him or her. When your child knows that you are there for him or her no matter what, that boosts your child’s self-esteem. So show your love to your children by hugging, appreciating or kissing.
• Teach limits
Be firm and establish a few reasonable and realistic rules for your child. For example, if your child is about to take your car and go somewhere, do not let your child go without wearing the seat belt. If she breaks the rule, tell her the consequence beforehand. (“If you don’t wear your seat belt, you don’t get to drive the car.”)
• Let mistakes happen
All of us commit mistakes, including children. When your child makes a mistake, let her learn from it. This becomes a valuable lesson for your child’s confidence. If your child misses her tuition class because she was dawdling in her bedroom, encourage her to think what should be done in order to avoid such a situation. This way, her self-esteem will not suffer.
• Appreciate the positive
Appreciate your child to acknowledge the good things she or he does. But do not over appreciate. Appreciation leads to increased self-esteem. Make your compliments as specific as possible. This will boost your child’s feeling of self-worth.
• Resist comparison
Do not compare your child to another child. This will only damage your child’s self-esteem. When you compare your child with another by saying something like “Why don’t you write fast like Tom?” this will create negativity and self-doubt in your child.
• Provide encouragement
Encouragement works wonders for your child. Encourage your child by acknowledging the effort they put in. Praising makes your child feel good but encouraging acknowledges the effort.
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Source by Aman Tumukur Khanna
