In psychology, self-esteem is defined as the subjective evaluation that a person makes about himself, 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 lifetime.
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.
The foundations of self-esteem they begin to develop on a day-to-day basis and parents play an important role in that construction. Since parents are the most influential people in a child's life, what they say or do influences what the child thinks.
How to work self-esteem in children
Here are some things that can help your child develop adequate self-esteem:
- The children who feel loved and acceptedthey 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 that you love him.
- Focus on the strengths of your child and not in 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, make them understand that sometimes it is normal not to win or not to achieve success is 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 sense of worth.
- Have the power to choose it's a good feeling. Give him a choice about unimportant things. In addition, it also teaches them that making decisions carries responsibility and risks that must be faced. That is why it is good to start with small decisions (toys, clothes ...) and as they grow, the level of responsibility for the choices increases.
- When you solve a problem, be it small or big, you feel satisfied. So 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 with your help. This will increase your self-confidence.
- Teach your children to take care of themselves and others. Talk about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Feeling good about yourself increases your 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 to develop a good self-esteem, but in excess it can be counterproductive since there are children who are uncomfortable and may try to do the wrong things to prove their parents.
Some games and practical exercises What you can do with your child to build her 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. Then ask him to write down the good things others say about him. Paste your child's photo in the center of a piece of paper and ask him to surround the photo with positive words about him. Finally, put the photo in their 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 paper and pencil, ask him to make a list of the accomplishments he has made so far, leaving room to add more later. To 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 him remember that he knows how to do things and builds his self-confidence.
Positive experiences
It is a group activity that can be done with family or friends with a box and letters.
The group should sit in a circle and each member should have a letter. Then each member is asked to write his name on their letter and put it in the box. All the cards in the box are shuffled and each one takes a card from the box. Then, each one should write something positive about the person who appears in the letter and pass the letter to the person next to her and so on until everyone has written something nice about the name that appears on the letter.
Subsequently, all the letters are put back in the box and each one is given a letter in which his name comes out and he is asked to read the good things that others have put about him.
I'm afraid of…
Fear is very powerful and can prevent us from doing things that we really want to do. This activity can help your child cope with things that he fears.
Ask him to write down those things that he has afraid to do. For example, you may be afraid to learn to swim or to speak in public, etc.
Sentences must be of the type: "I am afraid to learn to swim because ...”
Then you should ask him to imagine that he does what he fears. For example, imagine that he is swimming. And write the possible results or consequences of trying to do it, what can happen?
Display
The negative thoughts They 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 is not good at something or he 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 down how he feels when he visualizes this idyllic situation and what he thinks about himself.
The degree of self-esteem of a child 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 a 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 are not going your way and to accept mistakes.
- The self-esteem It may cause damage: when you don't have high self-esteem, we feel insecure. We don't think we can do things right. With low self-esteem, children do not try to do things and do not work towards their goals because they do not believe that they can achieve them. They are afraid of failing. Low self-esteem makes mistakes look 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 give up instead of continuing to try.
- Each of us can build your self esteem: Self-esteem begins to build when we are young through the things that important figures in our lives tell us (parents, generally). If the child perceives good words and good things from her environment, he will feel good and proud. As we grow, more variables influence the construction of our self-esteem (teachers, friends ...), but you can also build your own self-esteem. Focus your attention on the new things you do and reinforce yourself for it.
If you want to find out your level of self-esteem, we recommend doing the following Rosenberg Online Self-Esteem Test.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
