10 Ways To Help Your Child Build Self-esteem

Anyone who has kids knows that they are both a
magical blessing and a constant source of stress.
Raising children requires a lot of work—just
feeding, cleaning and dressing them takes up a
good chunk of a parent’s time, and that’s before
we even begin to teach them about the world. It
is important to pass on good values to our little
ones, but even more importantly, we want them
to feel confident in their abilities and to have a
realistic, yet positive self-image. If you want to
help your child build self-esteem, try out some of
these strategies.
1. Talk to your child and find out if there are any
problems.
Effective communication is essential for building
healthy and lasting relationships. Being a child is
exiting, confusing and even scary at times, so
your child may have a lot of questions about the
world as well as fears and doubts. Other kids
might be mean to your child, the child may feel
inadequate in certain ways, and he or she may
feel insecure about their body or intimidated by
social interactions. It is important to establish
trust and let the child tell you why it may feel
unsure of itself, so you can work together on
finding a solution.
2. Help your child find an activity he or she feels
passionate about.
Some people are born with an incredible voice;
some have a good ear for music; others have the
bone structure and musculature that can make
them a great athlete; and some have a vast
imagination and a flare for story-telling. Find out
what your child’s natural talents are and help
them engage in activities they find the most fun.
3. Be forgiving to others and show your child that
compassion is a great virtue.
Everyone makes mistakes; it’s a part of maturing
and a necessary step in attaining wisdom. By
practicing forgiveness, you let your child now
that, although what they did was wrong for a
number of reasons, it’s quite alright to make a
mistake every now and then.
4. Teach your child to focus on building
meaningful relationships, look for happiness in
small things and strive for success.
Many people attain a certain level of wealth,
power and skill, yet they never conquer their fears
and remain unsure of themselves. Teach your
child about the value of true friendship and how
others can help make you stronger. Teach them
to turn to the hundreds of positive little things in
life when looking for happiness and to be
ambitious and persistent.
Failure is just an opportunity to come back even
stronger and with good friends there to back you
up, even your darkest moments can seem a bit
brighter. There is no better way to help your child
build high self-esteem than to show them the
value of having others who believe in you.
5. Teach children to set attainable goals.
Wanting to be the first man on Mars, a world
famous ballerina or a movie star are very
ambitious goals and show just how creative your
child can be, but they may be unattainable. It’s
not a good idea to shower your child with praise
all the time and give them an unrealistic image of
themselves and their abilities. Let them give
anything a shot, but if they clearly aren’t meant
to be a singer, don’t hesitate to tell them that. Be
easy on them and offer alternatives. Help them
formulate some short-term goals that are easily
attainable with some hard work and have these
smaller goals build up to something more long-
term but still within reach.
6. Teach your child how to be organized and how
to study for best results.
Many people believe that studying is all about
sitting down and staring at a book for hours. This
can lead to a child feeling frustrated and believing
that he or she isn’t smart enough to learn a
subject. Being organized is a skill that can be
learned. A child needs a good balance between
studying, doing their chores and having fun—a
balance that can only be achieved by organizing
their time effectively. Some subjects can be more
difficult for a child than others and they may have
problems when they feel they are racing against a
clock. Tests in particular can be stressful and
take all the fun out of learning.
7. Enroll your child in classes that focus on
physical activity.
A healthy mind in a healthy body, as the old
saying goes. Getting a good deal of physical
exercise during the day is not only beneficial to
your child’s health, but can also help them
develop strong and agile body that they can be
proud of.
Looking good and feeling good will help your child
build self-esteem, while playing a sport will enable
them to be around like-minded kids and improve
their social skills.
8. Play with your child whenever you get the
chance.
Some emotional and physical contact with others
on a daily basis is very important for a child.
Devote some time to listening to their stories,
engage in some creative activities and teach them
some valuable skills in the process.
Anything can be made into a game, so you have
plenty of opportunity to get your child used to
teamwork, problem solving and expressing
themselves freely.
9. Become a good role-model by practicing what
you preach
Kids simply soak up information from their
immediate surroundings and they will turn to you
as their main source of information on acceptable
behavior. Monkey see, monkey do is their main
strategy. Be sure that you show your child how
one should behave through actions; don’t just tell
them what they should do and then do the very
things you instructed them not to do.
If your child sees that their parents aren’t afraid
to express themselves, that they try to be good to
others and are very social and open with other
people, the child will emulate this confident
behavior in their lives.
10. Teach your child about responsibilities and
the value of hard work.
A child shouldn’t be held to the same high
standards as adults, but they should understand
that their actions affect others and that there are
people who count on them. If the child
understands why it’s necessary for them to do
their chores and that it takes hard work to earn a
living, he or she will have a different outlook on
life. Children are often happy to help out their
parents and feel proud when they contribute.
Older kids can look after smaller kids during the
day, a child can help their parents in the kitchen,
they can help with home repairs (even if it just
means handing tools to dad), and they can clean
the house and help organize events.
Note: When it comes to helping your kids build
self-esteem, it’s important to remember to
communicate, spend some time with your child
and allow them to make their own choices, while
at the same time nudging them in the right
direction.