Raising confident kids should undoubtedly be one of your biggest goals as a parent. After all, when we have confident children, they’re better equipped in life and more likely to succeed.
They develop healthy relationships and are more likely to achieve their goals. Yet, despite wanting to create confident children, sometimes we can’t quite make it happen. Whether it’s because of our own lack of confidence, or lacking a nurturing environment, sometimes our kids end up less confident than we would have hoped. To help you, here are some of the best tips for raising healthy and confident kids with a strong sense of self.
Keep Them Safe
One of the most straightforward and effective ways to create confidence is by keeping your kids safe. Protect them from danger, and raise them in a loving and safe household. Teach them the importance of respecting the police and the importance of honesty, and give them a sense of routine.
The more your children feel like they can anticipate what’s going to happen next, the more confident they’ll be in general. However, if they’re in an environment that doesn’t just feel physically dangerous, but also emotionally dangerous, then you’ll only reinforce their sense of fear and lack of confidence.
Encourage Independence
While protecting your kids is undoubtedly important, it’s equally as important to encourage their independence. Kids who are allowed to make choices and take on responsibilities independently will build their confidence as a result.
Give your kids age-appropriate tasks so that they can learn to trust their abilities and develop self-confidence. Give them choices and allow them to feel empowered. Let them do things that may seem small, yet give them a sense of independence.
Let them choose their outfit, or give them a list of household chores. The younger they are when you start doing this the more they’ll benefit from it long term. Providing opportunities for them to boost their confidence will reinforce their sense of self and allow them to see they provide value to the world around them.
Provide Encouragement
It’s important that you tell your kids consistently what a great job they’re doing. If kids only are told when they do something wrong, then eventually they’ll start to believe that’s all they are— a badly behaved child. In addition to correcting their poor behavior, you also need to reinforce positive behavior.
Whether it’s encouraging the fact that they cleaned their room, or they got a good grade in school, tell them how proud of you you are, and remember, mistakes are a natural part of growing up, so help your kids remember that too. You are not perfect and neither are they.
Model Confidence
Remember, kids are natural sponges. If you look at yourself in the mirror and criticize yourself, then they’re going to model the same behavior. Be a model of confidence and show them what it’s like to love yourself.
Remember, that doesn’t mean you can’t have your hard days where you have self-doubt. Remember to show them that moments of feeling insecure are perfectly natural. However, the idea is to try and see the things you love about yourself as much as possible and remember that you are worthy and they are too!
