Self-Esteem – The most important life-skill a child can have
4 February 2019
By: Vidhya Shailesh, SoulKids® Program Manager, www.soulkids.org
Imagine if your child could be confident!
Imagine if your child could be happy given any situation!
Imagine if your child could have the ability to handle anything life sends their way!
SoulKids® helps them with this and more. And it all starts with high self-esteem. Self-Esteem is a sense of belief in one’s own ability, capacity and capability and it is a nurtured skill.
A child with high self-esteem appears more confident, happy and self-assured. They are not afraid to make mistakes and even try new things. They are more open to new ideas and willing to learn. They know and believe that if they put their mind to it, they can achieve anything. Children with high-self-esteem are happy children. They know their strengths and learn to work on them. They have an “I can do it!” attitude.
There are many ways this can be nurtured in a child. Some of the ways are listed below.
1. Foster a positive environment of love at home. Children who are loved, have a feeling of belonging and this greatly helps with their own self-belief. Tell them often that you love them and appreciate them.
2. The rigors of parenthood, school and life can often take a toll on everyone in the family. Ensure you set aside plenty of quality time to spend with your children. Let this time be all about them and what they are doing. Encourage them to share their experiences, their ideas and their thoughts and feelings. Involve them in household chores and help them feel valued and important.
3. Encourage them to be open-minded and try new things. Help them identify things they are good at and praise them for it. Appreciate their efforts rather than the results. And help them see their own progress. Teach them that failure is a part of learning.
4. Encourage them to form many friendships. Growing up years can bring up a bag of emotions for children – so make sure you are always there to hear them out and support and guide them, should they ask for help.
5. Keep negative talk out as much as you can. Comments like, “you are so slow…”, “you are no good” slowly and steadily damage their own self-esteem. Rather be positive in your feedback, for example, “Shall we try getting this task done in 20minutes?” or “That was much better than the last time.”
6. Avoid comparing them with their peers, siblings or friends. Each child has their own strengths and capabilities and as a parent you must help them find theirs. Comparisons only make them feel worse about themselves.
7. Model the behavior you want your children to emulate. But know that they also sometimes need to learn things for themselves. Make sure you are supportive and always there for them. Let them watch you fall and pick yourself up. When they see you do it, it becomes easier for them to try it too.
8. Avoid setting a high standard for them to live up to. Encourage them to constantly work towards excellence but keep your expectations out of it. For a child already working/trying hard, the burden of expectations is just too much to bear.
Parenting is a learning process too. Invest in your own learning and keep growing. With the right supportive environment around them, children will thrive in any giving situation and their self-esteem will grow.
At SoulKids®, our training is geared towards raising a child’s sense of self-esteem, to see their natural strengths, talents and abilities and to strengthen their sense of self-belief. Through fun games and stories, children grow in confidence and step into the world as happy and confident individuals. They learn to appreciate differences amongst each other and become more comfortable being themselves. They learn to believe in themselves and be the best they can be.
To find out more about our programs, please visit www.soulkids.org or email us at soulkids@soulcentre.org for more information. We offer group programs for different age groups and even offer one-on-one coaching if your child requires specific help and guidance.
