Child Self Confidence Tips

Child self confidence. A new born child has a natural acceptance of self. However, this does not necessarily translate into having confidence. The level of child self confidence is often the result the conditioning of their environment, especially by the parents.

Childhood and the teenage years are the period when an individual develops their confidence. The conditioning of self confidence during that period is often so strong that it will be brought into adulthood and possibly the rest of their lives.

Help with the development of child self confidence with the tips below.

Child Self Confidence Tips

Be a good role model

Parents are the biggest role models of children. A child will pick up the habits, language, actions and quirks of the parents. Children are often less exposed to the outside world, thus they will look to the parents to learn how to act, think and respond to the environment around them.

If a parent shows low self confidence when taking action, communicating, making decisions etc, the child will pick it up. What children learn from observing the parents is that they should respond to the various events in life with low self confidence.

So firstly, you’ve got to be a good role model to your children.

Always encourage children

Naturally children meet many unknowns, new experiences and ‘first-times’. Thus, it is normal for children to be unsure of how well they are doing something because they do not have many (if any) past experience of it. Confidence is built from experience. The more you do something, the more confident you become at it.

In this sense, children basically start from zero. They have never tried many things and are usually protected and dependent on the parents. So it is important that children are always encouraged during their first few tries of a new experience.

No matter how simple the task may seem to us, such as sweeping the floor or tying shoelaces, during the first dozen tries children will probably find it to be a real challenge. So keep in mind to always encourage children and never ever make her feel inadequate.

Remember, for us some things are very easy because we have done it thousands of times. Rather than get upset over the inability of a child to do something simple, try to look at things from their perspective and perhaps we can be more understanding of their struggles.

Regular encouragement is one of the best ways to developing child self confidence.

Let them try new things

Encourage children to try things that they have not experienced before. As mentioned in the paragraph above, when it comes to trying new things, children are usually fearful and doubtful of their abilities.

By facilitating and encouraging children to try new things, you are training your child to not be afraid of the unknown. The more new things they try, the more confident they become of facing things that are new and unknown. And the more new experiences they have, even more child self confidence will be developed.

Examples are letting them try different sports/games, attend different types of classes, playing with animals, and taking them to different places.

Don’t make comparisons

By not making any comparisons of your child to his siblings or other children, you send the message to him that he is unique. That he does not need to be like anyone, or do anything to prove their worth to the parents or the world. There is nothing that enhances confidence more than total acceptance of oneself.

Though comparison can sometimes be used to spur a child to improve further or learn an acceptable type of behavior, overdoing it will only lead to the child having a low self worth because it will give her the impression that she is not fully accepted by the parents.

Don’t overreact over small things

Instead react calmly, don’t make it such a big deal. Don’t make it seem as though it is the end of the world. Constantly overreacting will adversely affect the child self confidence.

First, if you overreact to the minor mistakes that children make, the child will feel ‘stupid’ and by making the mistake, it is proof that they are not capable. This makes the child develop low self worth and confidence.

Secondly from observing the parents’ overreaction, a child will start to believe that life is indeed tough and that even minor things are hard to handle (given the parents big reaction). This will indirectly make them develop low self confidence in facing life and the world.

Be more adventurous

Likewise by being adventurous, a child will learn from the parents not to fear the unknown. Acting this way sends out the message to the child that it is perfectly normal and acceptable to try new things, to face unknown situations, and to do things that have never been attempted before.

This mindset helps the child face any future events with confidence.

Trust them

Showing trust in your child is a great confidence booster for children. Show that you trust them by giving them responsibility and not controlling them too much. When children are allowed to do things, this tells them that they are capable of doing it.

Examples of trusting your child is by allowing her to do simple things such as purchasing something from the store, taking care of younger siblings etc. Choose a task that is new to them, requires some skill and responsibility and of course safe.

Give them time to blossom

Don’t rush children when it comes to learning new skills or abilities. Everyone grows and develops in their own time. Allow your child to develop at his/her own pace. Trust that they will be able to develop their ability in time.

Too much pressure from parents and peers to perform at a level they are currently not capable of will surely bring down a child’s confidence.

Final thoughts…

To help develop child self confidence, what is important is not only what we need to do to help the child, but also what we need to not do to ensure that we do not hamper a child’s confidence.

It is not surprising that the conditioning of children by parents are usually negative and disempowering, though they are done unintentionally. So be careful not to just do that by making sure that you always remember to see children for who they are, children.

Often times by staying out of their way and letting them do their thing, a child can and will naturally develop self confidence. Just a thought.

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