Raising self-esteem is one of the most important parts of child raising. Children with high self-esteem will out perform those with low self-esteem in just about every area of life. A lot of time and effort should be put into learning all the ways you can raise your child’s self-esteem.
Few tips for a self esteem building magic
Find as many ways as possible during the course of the day to compliment your children. The simple “great job” “I really like the way you did that” “you were really smart to figure that one out” are all ways of telling your children that you care about them and that in your eyes they are wonderful. By doing this over and over again in the course of their lives you are building their self-esteem to higher and higher levels.
Learn to discipline with a positive message. Saying “you are a wonderful child but right now your actions are not acceptable, you need to be acting like the great kid you are” tells your child he really is a good kid and when they hear that enough they will start to believe it and act accordingly on their own.
Activities are another great way to build self-esteem in a child. Any time your child is involved in doing something he has the opportunity for accomplishment, to succeed at something or to hear someone say “great job”. The more times these things happen the higher a child’s self-esteem will be.
My Mom’s Coleague
Older kids self esteem
My oldest daughter was an editor for the school newspaper at Tufts University. One of her editorials was about deadbeat dads. A lot of the piece was about comparing the dad she grew up with and the dead beats that want nothing to do with their kids. There is a paragraph in that article that I will always remember. “It’s time to go running now. I don’t really want to go. Work was long today, and my feet are tired, “Third Rock from the Sun” will be on in four minutes. My mind and body tell me to throw myself onto the couch and not to move anything but my fingers on the remote control. Another voice reminds me that the Boston Marathon, be it the 2000 or 2001 race, isn’t getting any further away. Regardless, though, whether I spend the evening with my Nike Cross Trainers or with French Stuart, in one person’s mind, I have already won the race”.
Make sure your children know that in your eyes they have already won the race. Tell them so as many times in a day as possible and make sure they have endless opportunities to acquire all the little successes it takes to build a high self-esteem.
