self-esteem

Improving self-esteem in children

Improving self-esteem in children

As a parent, it is incredibly hard to see your child lacking in confidence or self-worth, comparing themselves to others and worrying about failure. This in itself breeds anxiety; even if your child has the strategies and understanding to manage their anxiety on a day to day basis, if their self-esteem is low, that anxiety is likely to keep rearing its ugly head. I have been researching how I can support my own children to build their self-esteem and what I have found has been very helpful.

How can I help my anxious child?

How can I help my anxious child?

Anxiety has three different parts to it, the first being the anxious thoughts: “What if they don’t like me?”, “Will I embarrass myself?”, “Is there a monster under the bed?”, “Will I get it wrong?”, “This may make me ill.” As adults, we try to help by talking about their worries and/or downplaying these thoughts; telling our children it will all be ok, there are no monsters and so on. Often we try to make it better by saying things like, “Don’t be silly, everyone will like you because…” We have the best intentions, but is it actually helping?