Encouraging Healthy Self-Esteem in Children: Guide for Parents
Healthy self-esteem in children is known as feeling good and worthy about themselves. It is a crucial step towards emotional development, influencing how they handle mistakes, challenges, and interactions with others. Building healthy self-esteem helps enhance confidence in their abilities, resilience in the face of challenges, and a positive outlook. The understanding of self-value helps them build relationships, complete tasks with determination, and tendency to explore something new. On the other side, low self-esteem is associated with feelings of self-doubt, difficulty in social settings, and a fear of failure.
Why It Matters to Build Self-Esteem in Children?
Healthy self-esteem in children is important as it positively affects their confidence, emotional well-being, and building skills to handle challenges in life. Healthy self-esteem helps children to believe in their abilities and values which can empower them with confidence to take on new tasks, engage in new experiences, and handle challenges. This healthy self-esteem also provides them with the skills of building relationships, social interaction, and communicating with others effectively.
A child who did good artwork but becomes hesitant when wants to share the drawings with others. Healthy self-esteem provides the ability to believe in the abilities and the feeling of embracing the own work, even if it does not reach perfectionism. After getting encouragement from parents, help enhance their confidence to show the artwork to others. Encouragement by parents can enable them to accept judgment when they receive it from someone without being discouraged. Children with healthy self-esteem begin to understand that mistakes are a part of learning and growing, which can help them embrace their qualities and abilities.
Healthy self-esteem in children contributes to enhanced resilience to face life's challenges, handle judgment by others, and embrace their abilities. The feeling of self-worth is a way to build self-esteem in children, leading to a fulfilling life.
How Does Self-Esteem in Children Develop?
Positive experiences, supportive relationships, and accomplishments can help in developing healthy self-esteem in children. It can be fostered through behaviors such as when they feel that they are being loved, cared for, valued, and accepted by others. By receiving praising words for their efforts can help in recognizing their abilities and feeling more optimistic in completing any tasks. For children who feel pressured at a young age, it is specifically important to build healthy self-esteem in those children, can be helpful for them to handle the pressures and life's challenges.
Encouraging Healthy Self-Esteem in Children: Guide for Parents
Here is a guide for parents, that can help encourage healthy self-esteem in their children.
Focus On Children's Efforts, Not Just Their Success
Focusing and praising the children's efforts not just their success is a very effective way to encourage healthy self-esteem in them. Always appreciate their hard work and progress, which can help boost their confidence. If the child is trying their best in any task, or activity, try to celebrate their efforts not just success. When they receive appreciation for their efforts they can come to realize that their efforts are valuable not just the successful results.
Support the Children in Learning Doing Things
Supporting the children in learning by doing things at home, such as organizing the toys, holding things, and dressing on their own. Accomplishing their small tasks can make them feel responsible and capable, enhancing their self-confidence. Encouraging independence in them can help them believe in their abilities.
Teach Self-Compassion Through Your Actions
Children learn by watching and observing their parents and how they handle the challenges in their lives. Demonstrate positive self-talk and show compassion towards yourself when you make a mistake. Saying "I will get better results by practice" instead of "I can't" words in your talk. Modeling self-kindness is a helpful way for parents to teach children to treat themselves with self-compassion.
Make Sure Your Children Feel Loved Unconditionally
Make sure your children know that they are always loved unconditionally and that your love towards them does not depend on their achievements. This unconditional support helps children feel more valued and loved for who they are and they come to understand that this support and love is not based on their success.
Help Your Kid Set Achievable Goals
Help your kid to set achievable goals that can be easily reached. If they are trying to learn new things and solve anything, break it down into smaller steps. This setting of achievable goals can help them feel confident with each effortful step.
Teach Problem-Solving Skills
Supporting your children in learning problem-solving skills is also an important step to encourage self-esteem in children. Helping your children solve puzzles or matching colors, are the types of steps that can help them learn problem-solving skills. Further, these problem-solving learning approaches can help in developing resilience and confidence in their capabilities to handle challenges on their own.
Let Your Children Know That Their Feelings Are Valued
Creating a supportive environment in which children can feel comfortable expressing their emotions, and listening to them attentively and without judgement when they are sad can make them feel more comfortable sharing. This support by parents can strengthen their self-worth by showing them that their emotions are valued by their parents.
A healthy self-esteem in children helps them become more resilient and able to face and handle life's challenges. Parents can support their children who have lower self-esteem, encouraging in them healthy self-esteem which is a foundation for their overall well-being.