Raising a child is no simple task, he or she begins life needing 24-hour attention and care. This includes everything from frequent feedings and diaper changes, to soothing. However, as time goes on, children gradually start to do things on their own. This includes lifting their head up, crawling, walking and eating independently. Each development is important and helps to build for the next. As a child learns to be independent, they can and should develop confidence in their abilities. It is important that children are supported through their development, so that they become confident for their endeavors throughout life. Here are 4 ways you can help your child build self-confidence.
How you spend your time speaks louder than what you actually say to your child. If you invest most of your time watching television, the child will understand that TV is important to you. By spending quality time playing with them on the other hand, you are showing them that they are important. Through play, they will learn about sharing, following the rules, playing fair and being considerate. As they learn boundaries and develop these skills, they will be more confident in their interactions with others.
Demonstrate Confidence in Yourself
As how you spend your time is important, how you interact with life is very influential on children too. They have curious eyes that are always watching and they soak up everything; good or bad. You can use this to help your child build confidence, by showing confidence in yourself throughout life. Whether it is keeping a positive attitude, trying new things, dedicating yourself to improving in some aspect of life or taking care of yourself, these will all help to show that you can do what you set your mind to.
Beware of comments such as “I can’t do this” as well as the impact that giving up on something will have on them. If you are not confident in yourself, your child is going to learn by your example how to respond to situations. This may require healing your past. If you feel that your parents did hurt your confidence, don’t be too hard on them, they did their best based on what they knew at the time. The good news is you can break that pattern and start a new one for your child.
Encourage Expression of Feelings
Keeping feelings bottled up is not the way to go. Show your child how to talk about how they feel, and encourage them to do so. This is important for them to understand how emotional responses work, and to help them respond in a healthy manner to the different ways that they will feel. With a better understanding of emotions, children will be more confident to handle the many situations that may occur in life.
Give Them Responsibilities
One active step you can take to help your child is by gradually giving them age-appropriate responsibilities. As they are assigned tasks, and shown how to do them properly, they can experiment and learn. You can give them feedback on how they performed the responsibility. As they master each task, they will build confidence in their ability to learn and take on responsibilities in the future.
There is no guidebook to raising children, and some days will be much more challenging than others. These 4 tips can help you to instill self confidence in a child as they develop, and help prepare them to be a happy and healthy adult.