Self-esteem can be defined as an individual’s evaluation of their own value. It includes a variety of views about one’s self, such as beliefs, traits, behaviours, emotions and appearance.
Is self-esteem important? How does it affect us in our lives? Self-esteem plays a significant role in your success and motivation in life. Similarly, low self-esteem will put you back at work, in school and even lead you to lose belief in yourself.
Now, we may think. How does all of this apply to kids at such a young age? Self-esteem and confidence in a child is built and shaped from a very young age. Feeling liked, accepted, accomplished and good about themselves, being proud of their actions are a few things that you can notice in a child with self-esteem. On the other hand, children will low self-esteem tend to be hard on themselves, they don’t believe that they can do it or lack the confidence.
Self-esteem in children is very important because it gives them the confidence to try and explore new things. They feel accomplished or feel proud of what they do and can also cope with mistakes. This results in them performing better at school, at home and even later in life.
Children with low self-esteem have the fear of not being accepted by their friends, they lack enough confidence and tend to have a hard time standing up for themselves. This may lead to them not doing as well as they could.
It is important to enable a child’s self-esteem from a very young age. Development of self-esteem can start from when a child receives love, safety, attention and acceptance from their parents. At a young age, allowing your child to learn things on their own, praising them and smiling at them will have a positive impact on their self-esteem.
Every child develops and grows at their own pace and so will their self-esteem. If your child is not very social now, it doesn’t mean that he has low self-esteem. It just means that he may be taking a little longer to feel comfortable and confident. But, even if a child’s self-esteem is comparatively low, it can be raised.
What a parent can do to help a child’s self-esteem:
- Children love doing things on their own. Give them some space and allow them to learn for themselves. Help them in their process of learning and encourage their progress.
- Do not set very high or very low challenges for your child. When you are trying to teach them something, show them how it is done and let them learn by making mistakes.
- Do not be harsh when they make mistakes. Support them and help them understand that it only helps them in performing better
- Praise your child for their efforts and accomplishments and show them that you are proud of them. But at the same time, make sure you don’t overdo it.
- Do not compare them to their peers. Instead, focus on their strengths and build on them. Correct their actions with patience instead of criticism.
Let us make sure we have a positive impact on our children’s self-esteem and confidence. Be a role model that your child needs!
