Developing Self Esteem In Children – 5 Critical Tools Every Child Needs To Grow Into A Strong Adult

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Developing self esteem in children is absolutely critical to the growth cycle of a child. From a very young age until they grow in to successful adults it is important that we as parents understand this need and deal with our children accordingly and prevent low self esteem. Recognizing how we hamper our children’s growing self esteem is one thing but developing a plan to strengthen child self esteem is quite another.

We often get frustrated and angry, with our own inflated need for them to follow rules without knowing we are being destructive, yet changing these destructive patterns can be far more difficult that we expect and can be a arduous task. Diagnosing the problem is easier than following through with the remedy.

Dr. Edward Hallowell, a child and adult psychiatrist, list five critical tools every child needs to develop child self esteem.

1. Connection – Much like bonding, connection can help your child feel secure in their relationship with you and with others. Children must have a sense of belonging, love and attachment to their families.
2. Play – Play is the work of childhood and as much as we want to motivate our children to do something more productive, we must remember playing is a productive and critical activity of childhood.
3. Practice – Play soon teaches a child the power of practice. It’s like learning to ride a bicycle and watching our child struggle with the frustration of getting it right. They know that in order to get it right, they need to practice and they know it’s for their own good.
4. Mastery – With continuous practices comes mastery. After a certain amount of practice and self discipline, your child will experience the feeling of mastery, a feeling of knowing that they’ve achieved something. They will say to themselves “I CAN DO IT” with a huge smile on their face.
5. Recognition – Naturally, after mastering something comes recognition and affirmation to us and others. We will cheer them on and congratulate them on their achievement. A major confidence booster for any child with the resulting effect of feeling good about themselves and therefore raising their self esteem.

As a parent, raising two young girls myself and one having ADHD, the task has been challenging but following these guidelines has shown a marked improvement in child self esteem. My wife and I have seen remarkable changes. Our girls are a lot more confident plus, their grades have improved.

I believe, developing self esteem in children holds the key to the successful outcome of our parenting and can be a determining factor of our children’s success in life.

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Source by Steven Le Roux