How To Instill Confidence In Kids

Starting from birth, kids acquire new skills with very fast pace. Once they acquire new life skills they require adequate practice to be able to use them confidently. Confidence is very important ability which kids learn. It is important for young children to know that they can handle everything and can build mastery with experience. Also retrying after failure is important to develop healthy confidence.

Sharing five most important ways in which we can build confidence & esteem in children from the very beginning.

• Confident parents raise confidence in children 

Do positive self-talk Model confidence yourself and be a good role model for them. Some of things which we have never tried, we can learn along with kids. Even though you are scared of some things, like going on stage you can explain process to kids with confidence and do acknowledge that though I myself might not be perfect on same but you can build this skills and personality. While explaining process to them fix on positive things rather than negative, this will definitely help them in building confident personality.

• Don't get upset about mistakes and do appreciate their efforts

Don’t let kids be upset from their mistake and encourage them to try even after failures. Ask them to take deep breaths  and explain them failure is not end of game and through each failure they are one step closer to success. Let them try new things, even though they are met with failures during trying same. Once they attain new skills they become more and more confident. Shower them with praises for their efforts even result is not what they expected. Let your child know that you love them for their efforts and not on success.

• Help kids find their passion

Encourage them to try new things and let them decide for themselves what they like most. When they try new things, and their talents grow, it gives huge boost to their self-esteem. Let’s them explore whatever they wish to explore be it dance, paint, music and much more. Give them sufficient opportunities and experience in early age so that they can explore their passion. Travelling provide lots of experiential learning and opportunities to explore. Do take them to historical, spiritual and natural scenic, leanings which they get from experience is immense which build up their confidence.

• Set goals/ Break large task in measurable steps 

Encourage them to practice and achieve set goals. Break large tasks into small goals. Smile and happiness they have while they achieve set goals is immense and worth all the efforts. Set goals provide measure of success and achievement.Do counseling activities talk with them in healthy sense of responsibility.  

• Celebrate small achievement / efforts

Do praise them for their efforts and trying and same will encourage them to try harder . Do cheer for them for their small victories, such as first time when they painted a tree, able to build tower independently, able to put clothes themselves and much more it will make confident children. Basically mirror their emotion of success and celebrate it big with them. After all it is rightly said we live our childhood again with kids.

Divya is Mom to three years old cute little Child Nivaan. She is first time mom raising a happy and compassionate child. She believes in effortless parenting and fun ways to engage toddler. Also her firm message to other parents is "Dont stress over mess" as one day kids will outgrow this stage.