Parenting Tips to Build Your Child's Self-Confidence
As a parent, there is nothing more important than seeing your child succeed in life. Setting them up for that success is the ultimate goal — it is the reason you do so many of the things that you do. From the day they are born, they are learning new things at an astounding rate and you’re working to nurture them so they can make the most of these new learning opportunities.
All of these new skills are incredibly valuable for young children, but there is another soft skill that grows quietly alongside them. It is something that many of us that have it take for granted while those of us that don’t struggle with many things. The skill is self-confidence. It is developed from an incredibly young age and a critical component of becoming all you can be.
Kids with self confidence are able to trust in their own abilities to succeed. They are more likely to explore, discover, and create. In addition, they recognize that being the best at something isn’t everything and they can recover from setbacks and keep pushing on towards their goals.
Fortunately, this is a skill every parent can help develop in their kids from a very young age. Here are some ways you can help them feel more capable now and into the future.
Encourage Them to Grow
Building healthy levels of self-confidence starts as your child begins to become self-aware and aware of their surroundings. Creating a trust-based relationship and a safe environment is the first step. As your baby turns into a toddler, validating their pride at doing something successfully becomes highly valuable. Likewise, trying to recognize their good intentions and avoiding shame-based discipline build confidence.
Once children reach a preschool age, they are learning skills — from motor to social skills — at a profound rate. Practicing new tasks and even failing at them are important aspects to building greater self-confidence. As a parent, your role is to celebrate their successes and normalize the idea that we don’t always get it right the first time. Teaching them that it is okay not to be successful, but that doesn’t mean we give up, is a skill they can take well past preschool and into their adult lives.
As they get old enough, putting children in sports can be another way to help build self-confidence. Plenty of studies indicate that sports activities are a powerful means of building higher self-esteem, social skills, teamwork abilities, and creating an active lifestyle.
Of course all of that sports equipment your child acquires can create quite a bit of clutter. Another means of building self-confidence from a young age is giving your child small chores and tasks that they can take on around the house that are helpful for the whole family. For instance, you could put them in charge of folding laundry (even toddlers can help with matching socks!) or helping to organize a storage space for all of that sports equipment.
Be a Model They Can Look To
Beyond helping them be their best, another aspect to building your child’s self-confidence is being your best. No matter how confident your child appears to be, at some point they are going to be looking to you for a model of how to handle themselves in difficult situations. Displaying your self-confidence and working to manage your stressful or challenging situations in the way you’d want them to will make a huge difference. This dentist in Gloucester VA adds that being a role model in a healthy lifestyle also helps in building their self-confidence.
Of course, always acting on this advice isn’t necessarily the easiest thing in the world. It is okay to show your kids stress and emotions — you're human — but be upfront about the anxiety you’re feeling and help your child understand how you are managing and working through your challenges. Life will deal everyone setbacks and challenges, but managing our mistakes and persevering are what sets confident people apart.
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Self-confidence is a highly undervalued skill. Children that are able to develop great self-esteem and confidence will be better able to maximize the skills they are learning. As they grow, they’ll look to you as a model in difficult situations. Your confidence and ability to successfully manage the challenges that life throws at you will ultimately help them to do the same thing.
