Parents' Role In Building Self-Esteem In Children

As a parent, you may want your kid or teen to have good self-esteem. But, if you do not know how to instill self confidence and self-esteem into your child, you may find these tips useful.

- You should first understand that the circumstances that prevailed when you were a kid or teen were very much different from the current trends. You yourself might not have had self confidence during your younger days but that might not have affected you much since competition used to be very less then. But now, kids and teens face a lot of competition and unless they are self-confident, they may face a lot of difficulties. So, as a parent, you must keep yourself updated about the new and current parenting ideas for succeeding in your efforts.
Further, children have a lot of exposure to the electronic and print media and also the Internet that constantly and repeatedly bombard them with the message that they should always strive to improve themselves and match the highest standards set by some of their peers. There are chances children may get misguided by the messages they get. They may make false assumptions also.
Even bright children may suffer from low self esteem and so, they may also assume that they are not as talented or as good as some of their peers. They may even go to the extent of blaming themselves for unwanted incidents that may happen.
This means children including teens face a number of situations that may be responsible for their low self-esteem. Therefore, you, as a parent, should make all possible efforts to help your child surmount this problem.
- One of the foremost things you should do is to spend quality time with your child. You may be busy with your official work or household chores but you should accord top priority for this and find time to speak to your child, listen to what she or he speaks, tell her or him stories and so on. In general, children open up during bed time. You should allow your child to speak, look at her or him in the eyes and listen to her or him. They will value your gesture and will feel immensely happy. You can know fully well about your child only by spending time with her or him. Very importantly, when you listen to your child and keep appreciating her or him, the child's self-esteem will get a boost.
- If you find that your child faces a few issues, you should not hesitate to discuss them with her or him. You should always be appreciative. For example, even if your child is overweight, you should affirm to her or him that what is important is the "internal beauty" and not the external looks. You should constantly tell your child that you love her or him unconditionally irrespective of her or his appearance. You should also tell the child that you know the pressures she or he faces and that you are ready to help her or him for overcoming her or his difficulties.

- You should help your child to find out that particular area in which she or he can succeed. Once the child tastes success, you should appreciate her or him profusely and this is certain to boost the child's self-esteem. But, you should never be insincere when you lavish praises on the child. Children can easily find out insincere behaviors.
If you consistently show your love and appreciation to your child, you can certainly remove the negativity from her or his mind.