Building self-confidence in your child is essential. Here are some of my ideas:
- Promote social interactions (in a safe environment).
- Affirm their ability to do or make stuff (Summertime is a great time to do this!)
- Let them choose the movie, book, song. (Say “yes” as often as you can so that when you need to say “no” it really means something.)
- Listen actively.
- Watch attentively.
- Applaud wildly, but there is more to self-confidence than being praised.
Confidence Comes from Loving and Believing in Your Child –
“Take steps now to strengthen your family. Spend time together. Establish and maintain family traditions that build happy memories. Maintain a discipline with fair rules and regulations. Express unconditional love to one another through word and act. Develop within each one self-esteem and self-respect by loving and believing in him and having him belong. Provide security that children need. These are the values of which life is made. Establish these, and then we won’t need to worry about the frills that too often concern us. …We will need to be more self-reliant. We will all need to teach more within the walls of our own homes.”
A. Theodore Tuttle, 1979.
Isn’t that incredible? A. Theodore Tuttle said that back in 1979, which has certainly come to fruition. We HAVE to teach our children within the walls of our own homes during a worldwide pandamic and will all appreciate this more as we move forward. I love how he prescribes the tasking of building confidence in each child.
How Do I Build Self-Esteem in my Children?
- Spend time together.
- Establish (and maintain – that is the hard part) family traditions.
- Maintain (there is that hard word again) a discipline with fair rules and regulations (not letting kids tell YOU what to do and being fair).
- Express unconditional love through word and action.
- Love and believe in your child.
- Help your child know that they belong in your family and to you.
- Provide security that children need (I think that includes physical health and safety as well as emotional health and safety).
I agree. “These are the values of which life is made.” If we establish these in our children then our worries will be lighter (especially when they are teenagers). So, we start building our child’s self-esteem when they are babies. Develop a secure child now and this self-esteem will benefit the child in the tender teenage years when they have so many other issues to combat.
Teach Your Child That They are Important to God –
Your child matters to much more than just you. It starts with you, but when our children understand the bigger picture, they will be blessed with something similar to a superpower.
Develop a close relationship with God and then help your kids develop a relationship with God. For me and my kids this includes teaching them how to pray (through example and direct instruction). Pray as a family. Read The Word together. Openly recognize God’s Hand in your lives. Teach your child that God is a loving Heavenly Father. They are His children. We are each infinitely more important than we realize. I call this our divine nature.
I can’t separate my parenting from my faith. My parenting mistakes have caused me to absolutely rely on Jesus Christ for forgiveness and redirection. My parenting successes have absolutely been because of the guidance of His Holy Spirit and the teachings and assistance of inspired leaders in my life.
Being a parent is one of the greatest adventures of my life and it will be for you too. I know that these principles are true and will help you as you embrace this important privilege of being a parent. LOVE, LOVE, and more LOVE!
