In psychology, self-esteem is defined as the subjective evaluation that a person makes about themselves, that is, it is what we think about ourselves. You may think that what your child thinks about himself is not important because he is just a child, but at some point he will be an adult and self-esteem will play an important role in his decisions and in his life.
In addition to the fact that your level of self-esteem may or may not determine your chances of academic success, it can have an impact on your overall happiness. In this Psychology-Online article, we show you some Activities to strengthen self-esteem in children.
They begin to develop on a daily basis and parents play an important role in that construction. As parents are the most influential people in a child’s life, what they say or do influences what the child thinks.
How to work on self-esteem in children
Here are some things that can help your child develop adequate self-esteem:
- The children who feel loved and accepted They love and feel comfortable with themselves. When you speak kind words or show affection, your child feels loved and will think well of him. Sometimes a simple smile is enough to show him that you love him.
- Focus on the your child’s strengths and not on the weak. Encourage him to do what he is good at without feeling embarrassed. Also, help him identify his weak points and different ways to work on them.
- Encourage children to reach success it’s good. But we must tell them that we are not always successful, making them understand that sometimes it is normal not to win or not achieve success is something fundamental. Teach him to accept failure and that success is not the only way to measure our self-esteem.
- Learning new skills helps us feel valuable. Teach your child new activities, even if they are very simple, as it is a way to increase his self-esteem and feeling of worth.
- Have the power to choose It’s a good feeling. Give him the opportunity to choose about unimportant things. In addition, he also teaches them that making decisions entails responsibility and risks that must be faced. That is why it is good to start with small decisions (toys, clothes…) and as they grow, increase the level of responsibility for the choices.
- When a problem is solved, whether small or big, one feels satisfied. Therefore, the next time your child has a problem, don’t solve it for him, give him the tools he needs to do it himself, even if it is with your help. This will increase your self-confidence.
- Teach your children to take care of themselves and from others. Talk to him about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Feeling good about yourself increases self-confidence.
- Children are inquisitive and want to try new things. If your child shows interest in an activity, sport, or new learning, don’t discourage him. Encourage them to try it while you explain the possible risks and consequences (hours of practice, discipline…).
- Encourage and reinforce children It is very good for developing good self-esteem, but in excess it can be counterproductive since there are children who feel uncomfortable and may try to do wrong things to test their parents.
Some games and practical exercises What you can do with your child to build their self-esteem are:
“I am”
You can do this activity with a blank sheet of paper and colored pencils.
First, ask him to write a list with words that describe you, they can be positive or negative. Next, ask him to write down the good things that others say about him. Tape your child’s photo in the center of a piece of paper and ask him or her to surround the photo with positive words about it. Finally, put the photo in his room to reinforce the positive things about your child.
List the successes in your life
A good way to improve children’s self-esteem is to remind them of their achievements.
Using a piece of paper and a pencil, ask him to make a list of his accomplishments so far, leaving room to add more later. For remind you of your potential You can ask him to write down his achievements each day before going to bed. Doing this every day can help you remember that you know how to do things and boost your self-confidence.
Positive experiences
This is a group activity that can be done with family or friends with a box and cards.
The group should sit in a circle and each member should have a card. Next, each member is asked to write her name on her letter and put it in the box. All the cards are mixed in the box and each person takes a card from the box. Then, everyone must write something positive about the person who appears on the letter and pass the letter to the person next to them and so on until everyone has written something good about the name that appears on the letter.
Subsequently, all the letters are put back in the box and each person is given a letter with their name on it and they are asked to read the good things that others have said about them.
I’m afraid of…
Fear is very powerful and can stop us from doing things we really want to do. This activity can help your child face things he fears.
Ask him to write down those things he has afraid to do. For example, you may be afraid of learning to swim or speak in public, etc.
The sentences should be of the type: “I’m afraid to learn to swim because…”
Then you must ask him to imagine doing what he fears. For example, imagine that you are swimming. And write the possible results or consequences of trying to do it, what can happen?
Display
The can be very disabling to the point of not being able to do anything new. If your child is in this phase, this activity can help.
Find out why your child thinks he or she is not good at something or is afraid to do something. For example, if he is worried about going to school, focus on that. Ask him to imagine what the perfect scenario should be like to be able to change that negative. Ask him to close his eyes and imagine that scenario he has previously described and how he would feel if it could be real. Tell him to write how he feels when he visualizes that idyllic situation and what he thinks about himself.
A child’s level of self-esteem can be high or low. Children with adequate self-esteem have a positive feeling about themselves and are more confident than children with low self-esteem, which has negative effects on their life decisions. There are three aspects that show the importance of learning Activities to strengthen self-esteem in children:
- Self-esteem helps us: Thanks to self-esteem we encourage ourselves to try new things, make new friends, etc. With good self-esteem we believe in ourselves, we know that good things can happen to us when we try. Self-esteem helps you when things don’t go as you would like and to accept mistakes.
- The self-esteem It can cause damage: When we don’t have high self-esteem we feel insecure. We don’t believe we can do things right. With low self-esteem, children do not try to do things and do not work to achieve their goals because they do not believe they can achieve them. They are afraid of failing. Low self-esteem makes mistakes seem more serious than they are and life in general is perceived in a more negative way. When things don’t go well, children with low self-esteem, instead of continuing to try, give up.
- Each of us can build your self-esteem: Self-esteem begins to be built when we are little through the things that the important figures in our lives (generally parents) tell us. If the child perceives good words and good things from his environment, he will feel good and proud. As we grow, more variables influence the construction of our self-esteem (teachers, friends…), but oneself can also build one’s own self-esteem. Focus your attention on the new things you do and get stronger for it.
If you want to find out your level of self-esteem, we recommend you do the following.