It’s amazing how much confidence a child has in themselves when they’re just getting started with life. They feel safe trying new things because their parents have faith in them, and that gives kids courage to take risks on what might seem scary at first glance!
But, the fear of disappointing others can make a child with low confidence keep him/herself from trying new things. A child’s sense that their worth is contingent upon how well things. According to Dr Carl Pickhardt an expert on parenting and author for 15 books about raising kids, “Practice invests effort in the confident expectation that improvement will follow.”
Raising a confident child is not an easy task, but we may have some tips that can help you. Here are some ways to start!
1) Appreciate Effort No Matter If They Win or Lose
The most important thing you can do for your child’s self-esteem is to be supportive. Applaud the effort. Pickhardt says, “Over the long haul, consistently trying hard builds more confidence than intermittently doing well,”.
Kids should never feel embarrassed for trying. It doesn’t matter if they win or lose, as long as their effort was put forth in trying and that will make them feel better about themselves overall!
2) Encourage Practice to Build Competence
Piano prodigy, Harmony Shu told Ellen DeGeneres that she started practicing when she was just 3 years old. Harmony practiced for hours every day, and developed high level of competence. Confidence comes from the evidence that we’ve developed a skill and can do something well.
3. Let Kids Figure Out Problems by Themselves
If you do the hard work for your child then they’ll never develop the abilities or the confidence to figure out problems on their own.
“Parental help can prevent confidence derived from self-help and figuring out on the child’s own,” Pickhardt explains.
In other words, better that your child gets a few B’s and C’s rather than straight A’s, so long as they are actually learning how to solve the problems and do the work.
4. Treat mistakes as building blocks for learning
“Learning from mistakes builds confidence,” he says. But this only happens when you, as a parent, treat mistakes as an opportunity to learn and grow.
Don’t be over-protective of your child. Allow them to mess up every now and then, and help them understand how they can better approach the task next time.
Pickhardt says parents should see “uh-oh” moments as an opportunity to teach their kids not to fear failure.
At Life Skill Martial ARTS Academy, our expert team of coaches teach kids that “Failure Is our Teacher”. It’s not a matter of if we will fail, but when. Failing is an inevitable part of life, and it can be useful in understanding how not do something again-or discovering the best way for you! It also helps kids develop Grit, by not being afraid to try and try again!
Life Skill Martial Arts classes provide a way for children to develop self-confidence and how to overcome challenges, get along with others better, and build friendships more easily! If you are looking for a way for your child to develop better confidence or just need an activity that gets them off their electronics screen, schedule your free trial class now!
