TEACHING YOUR CHILD SELF-ESTEEM

Presented by I M Confident Niagara Canada

Created by Brenda Silveira

WHAT IS SELF-ESTEEM?

• Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person’s overall evaluation or appraisal of her or his own worth. (Wikipedia)

• In other words, it is how we see ourselves. It is a collection of our self-beliefs or feelings.

HOW DO WE GET SELF-ESTEEM?

• Self-esteem is not something we are born with

• It is something that we learn from the environment we grow up in

• This includes our parents, peers and everyone we connect with in our community

CONCEPT OF SUCCESS

• Children learn this concept at a very young age

• Children will try to roll over, fail, try again, fail and keep trying until they are successful

• When they finally succeed, they feel good about themselves

• If we encourage them, this will help build their self-esteem

A HEALTHY SELF-CONCEPT

In order to have a healthy self-concept, children need:• to feel love from parents and peers• encouragement from parents and

peers• to interact with others in a positive

way to create a positive self-concept

CHILDREN WITH LOW ESTEEM

• Are critical of themselves• Become withdrawn• Are disappointed in themselves• Get frustrated • Give up easily• Don’t want to try new things• Use negative self-talk

CHILDREN WITH HIGH ESTEEM

• Know their strengths and weaknesses

• Enjoy interacting with others• Can deal with challenges• Are optimistic• Enjoy group activities• Use positive self-talk

HOW TO BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM

• Be a positive role model• Be loving and supportive• Be encouraging• Be a good communicator• Spend time with them• Discipline with love• Help them to set goals• Allow them to make mistakes

HOW TO BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEMBe a positive role model.

• Children learn by what they see and hear

• Be the person you want your child to be

• Watch your words and actions as they may be imitated

• Be careful with criticism as it has negative effects

HOW TO BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEMBe loving and supportive

• Create a secure, loving home environment

• Give hugs and show respect• Acknowledge their feelings• Watch for signs of outside

problems and immediately deal with them

• Give support even if you don’t always agree with their choices

HOW TO BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEMBe encouraging

• Encourage your child to try new things

• When a new skill is learned, praise them for their effort

• Help them feel proud of their accomplishments

• Be patient when they have problems

HOW TO BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEMBe a good communicator

• Talk in a positive way with your child, not to your child

• Be open to discussion on any topic• Listen attentively and respond

wisely• Talk one-on-one• Keep lines of communication open

even if they aren’t talking

HOW TO BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEMSpend time with them

• Spend time with your child and show them how valuable they are

• Do things together as a family• Get them involved in positive

activities• Teach your child to be nice to

others and do acts of kindness

HOW TO BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEMDiscipline your child.

• Discipline with love• Separate the child from the action

and punish the action not the child• Set reasonable boundaries and

enforce them• Always be fair and open-minded• Don’t judge or be overly critical

HOW TO BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEMHelp set realistic goals.

• Setting goals will help your child build confidence and increase their self-esteem

• Goals give purpose to life• Help child to write down goals

and follow them• Help to break down larger goals

into smaller, achievable goals

HOW TO BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEMAllow your child to make mistakes.

• Teach your child that life is not perfect and they will fail sometimes

• Allow mistakes to be made but encourage them to try again

• When your child fails, support them and discuss lessons learned and ways to improve the next time

HOW TO BUILD YOUR CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEMTeach them about self-image

• Body image often becomes the main focus of a child’s life, which can be harmful without strong self-esteem

• Discuss how society creates an unrealistic image of beauty and help them understand that real beauty is not just how they look

• Teach your child to be confident about who they are

REVIEW• Be a positive role

model• Be loving and

supportive• Be encouraging• Be a good

communicator

• Spend time with them• Discipline (with love)• Help set goals• Allow mistakes• Teach them about

self-image

PLANTING POSITIVE SEEDS

It is important that we plant positive seeds in the lives of our children so they will develop a healthy esteem and grow to be responsible, caring adults.

Grandma’s Notes on Parenting

An easy to read book with some important steps on raising a child in a positive environment.

Available through Amazon for your kindle or paperback edition.  Copy and paste this link for a quick book review…. http://readersfavorite.com/book-review/12123