Proven Ways to Promote Positive Self-Esteem In Children

Your child’s positive self-esteem is one that you can start building from they are a toddler.

You may not notice it, but if your child’s self-esteem is low it will affect how they interact with others, their performance in school and in other activities.

It doesn’t matter if your child is a little one or a teenager, there are things that you can do today that will help build your child’s positive self-esteem.

Check out these tips for developing a positive self-esteem in your child.

Tips for developing positive self-esteem in children

Taking steps to help develop your child’s self-esteem can be small. Try using one or two of these tips below.

Begin with the end in mind

Think about what you would want your little one to grow up to become. No their profession, but their character.

Are there traits you want for your adult child?

Do you want your child to be kind and compassionate? Then, set up opportunities to develop compassion and treat others with kindness.

Develop your own skills

Do you feel inadequate at times?

Or are you concerned about passing on lessons from your childhood that are not what you want for your child?

Get help! This is not something that you want to try to tackle alone.

Read books and blog post. Go to classes. You may even want to consider therapy or a support group.

Learn from your experiences – make the changes you want for your child.

Choose your battles wisely

Remember. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Decide on one area to address, like chores or homework. And focus on that until you see success.

Then, tackle another issue.

Align the adults

Ensure all adults are on the same page.  Then means your husband, aunts, uncles or any adult that your child interacts with often.

Hash out any disagreements and come up with rules and consequences everyone can live with. It is critical that the consequences are enforced, even when inconvenient for the adults.

Create opportunities for success

Catch your child being good. This is a quick and easy way to boost your child’s self-esteem.

Set small goals that your child can easily attain. Focus on a tiny step until it is achieved consistently, and then add something else.

Start when they are young, and life is much easier when they get older.

Allow mistakes and failure without judgment

If you are a perfectionist, get help with that now.

Chances are high that you will either pass that behavior on to your child or they will feel judged or defeated if they let you down.

Let them fail and make mistakes until they get it right – without too much pressure.

Teach what you want them to learn

Be clear about your expectations. Show your child how to do things. Model for them by doing it in your life.

Verbal instructions are often insufficient and set kids up for failure.

Don’t overwhelm them with too many things to do at once. Stick with one or two instructions at the most for verbal instruction.

Reinforce what you want more of

Praise them when they do what you want, especially when they do it well or go above and beyond.

Be specific about what they did that you like and tell them you appreciate it.

People, especially kids, love to please us.

Raise the bar

Teaching responsibility requires accountability.

Building confidence requires that children successfully achieve their responsibilities.

When they don’t reach the mark, help them get there – praise their progress and encourage them to finish successfully.

Do the hard stuff

Follow through with what you say you will do – good, bad, or indifferent.

If they blow it, let them deal with the fallout, even if the consequences are harsh and long-lasting, such as failing a class means summer school instead of band camp.

Utilize these tips and watch your child’s self-esteem improve.

For more information and ways to improve your child’s self-esteem, get my free ebook here.

This post is part of the series Developing Positive Self-Esteem in Children.  To find all of the posts and to learn about how to develop positive self-esteem in your child, visit the homepage: Developing Positive Self-Esteem in Children