It is no secret that right from birth, children pick up different skills and abilities at an alarming rate. Along with these new changes to their lives comes the chance to build and work on their confidence. This is so they can implement their new findings into their life as best as they can. As children grow up and go through different stages in development, their confidence can slowly slip which is why it is an important skill to focus on alone. In order to find true success in life, confidence is one of the main factors that needs to be focused on to get there. As parents, it is important to encourage your child to have trust in themselves and be well aware of their capabilities. At the same time, it is important they understand that they won’t always succeed the first time and being able to jump back from minor setbacks will really help them develop healthy self-confidence. To get you and your child on the right track, here are some tips when it comes to helping your child become more confident.
Think before you compliment
Whilst compliments and praise are needed to help anyone gain better confidence levels, it is important to understand how and where you encourage, especially when it comes to your little one. The difficult pill to swallow is that over praising a child can lead to them having a hard time understanding when their achievements are truly worth celebrating. Whilst small milestones are just as important to acknowledge, it is worth noting that excessive praise can create a mindset in a child where they may end up not believing you. Don’t praise your child for the sake of it, for example, if they put on their own shoes or brush their teeth, a simple thank you is more than enough. Be more specific when it comes to feedback. Instead of telling your child it’s the best drawing of a car you have ever seen, go into detail and explain your appreciation for the detail of the spoiler or door handles.
Don’t jump in the way when you sense any danger
As a parent, it is completely normal to want to shield your child from any hurt or danger. This is usually why many parents will go out of their way to prevent their child from being in situations where they can be made to feel upset or discouraged. However, in the long run, this can be damaging as part of developing healthy self-confidence means to understand that it’s okay to fail. The real skill comes from rebounding from unexpected situations. Children learn by facing obstacles, if you are always there to move them out the way or take the fall, you are reducing the chances of your child gaining this vital skill. Show your child your own mistakes sometimes. Understanding that even adults can get it wrong sometimes can be relieving and reminds little ones that one small blip is not as big of a deal as it may seem.
Let your child make decisions
Of course, this is to be done to a reasonable extent. Many times, young ones struggle to gain confidence in themselves as they have been sheltered their entire lives and had no reason to question decisions that affect their life, as it has always been handled by an adult. Moreover, children who get the chance to make small decisions that affect their life from early on, will gain a sense of responsibility and confidence in their own judgement. This could be as simple as giving your child the choice between two different snacks to take for school. The decision isn’t entirely theirs but gives them an introduction to feeling some control over their own lives.
Thank you for reading.
