I believe that the most important thing a parent can give a child is confidence and self-esteem. All the degrees and certificates are useless if a child lacks self-confidence. With self-esteem, a child will be able to try new things and venture out on his own. He will not be easily influenced by others because he knows what he is doing is right.
On the other hand, a child who lacks self-esteem will be constantly seeking for approval by his parents and peers before he tries anything new. There is fear within him that he may not be accepted by others around him.
Here are some tips to build self confidence in the child:
- Encourage the child to do things on his own. It does not matter even if he does it wrongly(as long as he is in a safe environment). The most important thing is to let him try and he will definitely gain confidence after gaining some success. He will gain confidence and want to try out more and do more. He becomes aware that he can do more if he tries and my even make some mistakes.
- Focus on his strengths and not his weakness. It is understandable that as parents that we want the best for our children. However, we have to be aware that every child is special and different. Though Mathematics is very important, the child may not like it at all. Instead of forcing him to sit down and listen, try to incorporate Maths with something that he likes e.g. music. This will lower his resistance towards learning Maths and he may think of better ideas to learn maths with music too. You never know how creative they can be.
-Praise your child when he does something well. Children are constantly looking for approval. Parents are usually critical because it is easier to point out mistakes. Just be aware and remember that children (just like anybody else) prefer to listen to positive things.
-Differentiate the child from his behaviour. If parents are unhappy with the child's behaviour, tell the child. We need to reinforce that we still love the child but not the behaviour. The child needs to know that parents still love them after being punished. Children do not mind being being punished because they did something wrongly but they need to know that their parents still love them. Tell your kids that you love them and do not assume they know. Tell them that you love them even when you punish them.
-Let him learn a new skill when he is ready. These include learning to use the scissors, needle up to learning multiplication tables. Different skills builds the childs confidence in different areas of his life. We need to build up his social skills on how to make friends, motor skills as in how to use the scissors, fork and knife. Others include literacy skills and numeracy skill. Each has to be taken one step at a time. This includes letting him try new things.
-Create chances for them to speak up in front of the family. This can help in public speaking and their confidence in public in general. Start by doing this at home. Once they can overcome the fear of speaking in front of the family, you can extend to your friends and relatives. Start somewhere. You could even let them start by talking to another sibling or in the toilet. Encourage them to speak up and you can learn about what they are thinking about as well.
Try out these tips first!
Child predators that look for child victims come in many forms. The more we understand the various different types of people that prey on kids the better we can stay one step in front of them and keep kids safe. Arming your child with tips and techniques to keep themselves safe from bullies is critical to your child's safety.
Bullies are a type of predator. This is the most common type of predator your child will likely encounter, too. Bullying is, sadly, a pervasive issue for kids in just about every school across the globe.
Bullies prey on children of roughly their own age group that they perceive as weak and submissive. Bullies themselves have terrible, inferior self images. Through a very complex series of internal thought patterns they create behaviors to bolster themselves by choosing victims they know will be submissive to them.
Since the reasons behind the bully's behavior can be so complex, real solutions focus on the "victims" behavior. Teach your child to be less of a victim. This is why we emphasize teaching kids to be confident. Confidence is a powerful deterrent to bullying.
If your child is not very confident, then first teach them to at least project self confidence. We do it every day in our kid's safety classes and you can do it at home, too.
We start and end every class by teaching the kids our 2 Safety Rules:
"I Will Always Do My Best!" "I Will Always Say I Can!"
The kids repeat these themselves and so, have your child say them daily, too! Say these with them and do it really enthusiastically! It's a great first step.
Next, play our "Feel Good! Feel Bad!" game with your child. Ask them to remember a time when they were sad or ill. Show them how to walk around with their shoulders slumped, head down, shuffling around. Then ask them to remember a very exciting and happy time. Ask them to remember a special event and have them jump up and down and move around the room with their head up, shoulders back.
When your child understands, announce the start of the game! Offer a "win" reward at the end for them, like a cupcake or something, and play it with them for a few minutes. Say, "Feel Bad!" and slump around with them. Then yell, "Feel Good!" and bounce around with them smiling and walking tall.
This silly game can be the beginning of an awareness for your child of what it really feels like to feel good. If they can play this game, they can learn to project feeling good, confidence that is, even at times they do not feel like it.
What we also find in our classes is that some of the kids who are not confident, begin to like how the "Feel Good" part feels and slowly will begin to engage in good feelings themselves over time.
Keep in min there is something more, something deeper when your child is confident. We notice confident kids display certain structural changes, physical changes in their bodies that serve them better than kids that have poor self-images. Confident kids can control their physical movements a little bit better. At the same time, they can move more quickly and with finer control of those movements. We find confident kids can actually focus better mentally and for longer periods of time.
In other words, these kids are better equipped physically, mentally and emotionally to learn the actual safety techniques that could save them from sexual predators than kids that feel bad about themselves. Kids that hang their head, shuffle around, are tired or ill, cannot move with as much control or quickness or think as clearly as kids that are healthy and confident. A high degree of self confidence and a positive self image matter in good child safety.
And bullies? Well, they will be pervasive throughout life. The profile is the same: they look for weak victims. Confidence is the best victim deterrent.
Both Cheng Cheng Tan & Joyce Jackson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Cheng Cheng Tan has sinced written about articles on various topics from Family, Home Schooling and Family. Cheng Cheng is a parenting expert with with two boys age 5 and 6. She has learnt a lot form books and other mothers. She hopes to share her experiences and knowledge which will definitely be useful to you. For more tips on parenting and raising kids, go t. Cheng Cheng Tan's top article generates over 720 views. to your Favourites.
Joyce Jackson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Banking, Children and SEO Search Engine Optimization. Joyce Jackson is a child safety expert in northern California. For her extensive website and information see and a free special report at. Joyce Jackson's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.