How to Build Confidence in Young Children
Self-confidence plays a massive role in our children’s academic and social success. Confident children feel good about themselves, feel proud of things they achieve.
Confidence can help young children and adults to:
Be more independent.
Make friends easily.
Get involved in new experiences.
Learn to take risks.
Earn perseverance.
Good problem-solvers.
Confidence-building is an essential skill you can give your child as a parent.
Building a child’s confidence is not as complex as you may think, but it does take time to build. It is not just a case of praising your children all the time with positive comments but showing them their self worth and how respected and loved they are. It is a matter of giving them some vital life lessons which they can use themselves. You can start supporting your child’s confidence from a very early age.
Here are a few ways in which you can support and improve your little one’s confidence:
Spending quality time to bond.
Strong and effective relationships boost children’s confidence. So holding, playing and talking to your little one from the moment they are born plays a crucial part in their development.
A lifelong attachment will develop by establishing a trusting relationship with you, allowing your little one to feel comfortable, happy, and secure. Holding your little one is not only great for both of you to get to know each other, but it also supports your little one’s emotional and social growth. Entering healthy relationships with others throughout life and positively experiencing and expressing a full range of emotions.
Praise your little one no matter how small their achievement.
Your little one is working very hard to learn about the world around them, and they’re mastering new skills daily. So give your little one specific praise for all the hard work they do. For example, if your little one makes any sounds or vocalisations, smile and praise them with comments like
“Wonderful talking!”
Or, if they begin kicking, “Great kicking, well done!”.
Remember that all children are unique.
Don’t compare your children to others. Remember, all children are unique; they learn and develop at a different pace, have different personalities and abilities. Remembering this crucial statement will avoid setting unrealistic goals for your little one and children.
Offer your listening ears.
Pay attention to your little one’s ‘goo goos’ and ‘ga gas’. Your little one has not yet mastered talking! They communicate using their cries and making sounds. Listen to what they have to say, start a conversation, for example:
“Wow!, really and then what happened? Keep talking; tell me more.”
Follow your little one’s lead, repeat the sounds and vocalisations they make. By doing so, you show your little one that you are listening and what they have to say is very important to you.
Play with your little one.
Children need to feel accepted and loved, beginning with their family and extending to other groups such as friends, school friends, and their community.
Take time out of your busy schedule to have uninterrupted playtime with your little one.
Laugh, sing, talk to your little one, show them that spending time with them is important to you.
Instil independence and awe.
Self-confident children are willing to try new things without fear of failure. Set up play situations where your little one can do things for themselves. Allow your little one to control how they use the objects, toys, or materials. As they are in charge of their play, they build the confidence to problem-solve do things independently. Open-ended activities can involve materials and resources such as:
Messy
Sand
Water
Encourage exploration and look at the world with wonder, whether it’s a shopping trip or the park. New experiences such as day trips, outings, hobbies etc., can expand your little one’s horizons and build confidence in their capacity to handle new situations.
Be a positive role model.
To instil confidence in our children, we must first look at ourselves and lead by example.
Use positive language when talking about yourself, for example:
“My arms are strong enough to carry you.”
“My eyes are so bright and green.”
Young children learn most from their parents and carers. So if the adults around them use negative language towards themselves or others, they’ll think it’s normal, and they’ll copy.
Allow them to make choices.
Let them make choices; whenever you offer them something to drink, toys, clothes, etc., give them two. It will support their self-confidence further by allowing them to control their choices. For example:
“Do you want to wear the red socks today or the blue socks?”
“Do you want the orange plate or the purple plate?”