4 Strategies to Help Your Children Have Great Self-Esteem
To be able to fulfill our dreams, personal well-being is absolutely essential. While for many people this is something innate in them, for others it’s more difficult, especially in childhood. In these cases, we need to ensure that we’re teaching our children to love themselves more, and have great self-esteem.
The phrase “love oneself more” may sound somewhat broad. It may even seem to be something that doesn’t need to be clarified, since, in theory, every child should love themselves. However, it doesn’t hurt to help children nurture their self-esteem in a healthy way.
Personal appreciation and perception of one’s abilities generate a feeling called self-esteem. This is a key factor for a child’s healthy and happy development. In this article we’ll point out its relevance and the methods needed to improve it.
Problems of children with low self-esteem
There are certain behavior patterns that can indicate that something isn’t quite right with regard to a child’s self-esteem. All of these can either be avoided or coped with in a better way, whatever the case may be.
- He’s often sad for no apparent reason.
- He refuses to do activities on his own.
- He has no interest in spending time with friends.
- He isn’t open with his family, nor does he express himself.
- He’s unable to relate to people he doesn’t know.
4 strategies to teach your children to have great self-esteem
As a mother, it’s important be aware of what you should and should not teach your children in order for them to have better self-esteem. Take note of the following strategies and make sure you apply them in daily life.
1. Devote time to them
In this first point we’re going to focus on a fundamental rule of parenting. Parents must devote quality time to their children. This will make them feel valuable, listened to and understood. They will realize that they’re important to their parents.
It’s essential that you stop what you’re doing when your children really need you. This is the best way to show them that their problems are important to you and that you’re willing to help them look for a solution.
In addition, you can take advantage of this bond to instill values, teach them and recognize and accept their strengths and weaknesses.
To love who we are, it’s necessary to know ourselves thoroughly and accept ourselves with all our defects and weaknesses.
2. Deal with their successes and failures properly
Childhood is a stage of life that is full of constant learning. Therefore, it’s logical that they’ll make mistakes. The issue here is how to deal with them. Far from questioning their actions or even their capabilities, you must show them that they can always get something positive out of each setback.
In addition to promoting the importance of resilience, you must also act properly when they achieve their goals. You should acknowledge their achievements and congratulate them for their success and commitment. It’s also vital that you don’t compare them with what their siblings or friends have done.
In this way, your children will notice that you’re interested in their development. They’ll see that you’re there to guide them and help them whenever they need it. But be careful: the latter never means preventing them from making mistakes at all costs, or handing them the solutions. It’s more about doing the opposite.
“Far from questioning their actions or even their capabilities, you must show them that they can always get something positive out of every setback”
3. Teach them to interpret their emotions
The so-called emotional intelligence is a key aspect to enable children to grow throughout their childhood. In these situations you should teach children to interpret their feelings and to act accordingly in response to them.
It’s vital that you listen to them and help them understand that what they feel is normal. They shouldn’t feel bad about being afraid, anxious, worried or sad about something. These are totally normal emotions that we all experience.
4. Be an example and correct them constructively
Your children learn everything from you, even when you aren’t teaching them anything special. Therefore, you must show from your actions the idea of taking positive risks, of facing responsibilities and, above all, of being respectful, loving and understanding with others.
On the other hand, when you notice mistakes or unacceptable behavior in them, don’t attack their self-esteem. To teach your children to love themselves more, you have to deal with their actions and not their abilities.
So, for example, instead of saying: “You’re bad at math, you’ll never learn,” you should say, “Look, you’re doing this the wrong way, concentrate and practice and you’ll get the hang of it.” It may seem insignificant for you, but it truly makes the difference between a self-confident child and a child with low self-esteem.
Finally, you shouldn’t forget “minor” actions that are also vitally important. You must try to establish healthy limits and always be affectionate. This way, you’ll teach your children to have great self-esteem. It will be an amazing tool for their lives!
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Riso, W. (2003). Aprendiendo a quererse a sí mismo. Editorial norma.
- Lantieri, L., Goleman, D., & Bannel, E. P. (2009). Inteligencia emocional infantil y juvenil: ejercicios para cultivar la fortaleza interior en niños y jóvenes. http://588073.stanpersky.de/descargar/588073/Inteligencia%2Bemocional%2Binfantil%2By%2Bjuvenil%253A%2Bejercicios%2Bpara%2Bcultivar%2Bla%2Bfortaleza%2Binterior%2Ben%2Bninos%2By%2Bjovenes.pdf
