Activities Self Esteem Children

Effective Ways to Build Self-Esteem in Children

One of the main issues that parents must deal with when raising a child, is their self-concept and self-esteem. We need to teach our children to have a strong sense of self worth, both in themselves and in their talents. This can be difficult to do because as parents we need to give them ’space’ to find out certain things on their own and yet be there to guide them along the way too.

Being too lax and giving them too much freedom can lead to rebellion while being too strict can destroy a child’s independent spirit and foster too much dependence.

Although self-esteem can be developed at anytime in a person’s life, it is good to start early and train your child to trust in what they can do and to embrace their individual talents. There are several things that parents can do to help develop a healthy self-esteem in their children.

1. Self-affirming statements

Talking to yourself in front of the mirror and telling yourself what a great person you are, can feel a bit childish for a grown-up to do but not for a child. Even if it seems childish, the practice is quite effective in boosting our self-esteem. You don’t have to continue with it, if is seems to be something they are not feel comfortable with. They can say self-affirming words without looking in a mirror and it can be just as effective in helping them feel positive about themselves and have greater self-confidence.

Create a mantra that your child can easily remember, one that goes to a familiar tune they already know. When they get up in the morning, you can sing the mantra to your child and have them sing one to you. The mantra should be about each other; such as saying I love you in the morning or telling each other how great the other is.

You can be creative, by showing your love and acceptance you can never go wrong. You can create your own variations as long as the essence of affirming oneself is there.

2. Playing the Positive Traits Game

The Positive Trait Game, is a great game to play with your child that will boost their self-image, and will also help to increase his or her vocabulary skills. This is a fun way for you and your child to tell each other the things you like about each other, or the positive traits you see in them. What makes this game fun, is that the positive trait must begin with a certain letter of the alphabet.

This is a fantastic way to get your child to focus on their positive attributes and talents, and then speak out on what they think make him or her unique and special. The more often you play this game together, the better chances they will always remember it and the good qualities they have, that they can be grateful for.

3. Do activities that they love

Encourage them to try out new things so that they will discover their talents and abilities. One great way to do this, is through summer programs, where they have all kinds of things for kids to do. For instance, if he is good with drawing and crayons, it does not mean that he will not be good in music. So don’t discount music lessons as part of his summer curriculum.

Anyhow, if he does not like it, at least he has learned something new. By allowing them to explore different things, they will find out what they love to do and what they are really good at; this is a wonderful way to boost their self-confidence early in life. Childhood is a wonderful time in life and by allowing your child to enjoy activates, they will become even more adventurous and open to learning new things.