No matter where life takes your child, self-confidence will play a key part in his or her’s success, so it’s absolutely essential that you, as a parent, start building your child’s self-confidence at a very early age.
Raising confident children is not as hard as you may think. There are simple things that you can do from the moment your children are born that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
- Shower your child with your love. From the day your child is born and placed in your arms, it’s important to show them how much you care. A child can never have too many hugs or kisses. And they can never be told “I love you” too many times.
- Show interest in your child. It can be hard for some parents to find time to spend with their children, especially if they’re working two jobs just to make ends meet. As hard as it is, though, you should try to find at least a couple hours each week to focus on your child. Ask them what they’ve been doing in school, what books they’re reading, what movies they want to see, etc. These conversations can be held during meal preparation, at the dinner table or even before bed.
- Praise your child. If your child has a special talent, it’s important that you recognize it and comment on it. Your praise and encouragement goes a long way in building self-confidence. When you praise your child, it allows them to recognize that they did something well, which encourages them to do it again. Also, don’t be afraid to plaster your walls with pictures of your children. It’ll show them how great you think they are.
- Never criticize your child. Remember how it hurt when a bully would make fun of you in school? Remember how it affected your self-confidence? Well, that feeling is magnified when hurtful words come from parents, so avoid it all costs.
- Help your child choose the right kind of friends. Throughout my years as a teen, I knew a few people who had very low self-confidence and were only happy when those around them were feeling down and out. People like that can drain one’s self-confidence, so encourage your children to choose friends that believe in themselves and are confident and comfortable enough with who they are that they don’t feel the need to bring others down.
- Let your own confidence shine. Your kids look up to you. If you don’t believe in yourself, your children can sense it and may even emulate your actions, so practice showing how confident you are. And before you know, your children will be exhibiting that same kind of confidence.
Do you have other tips on how to build a child’s self-confidence? If so, please feel free to share them with us.