also how important it is to a persons well being!!
Good self esteem is the emotional foundation of a person's general well being!! It is build during childhood primarily by two things...
Parental affection and approval, and the childs own realization of his/her own talents and interests.
These two componants are often intertwined.
Self esteem does not come from being perfect!
It does come from a child accomplishing something
that he/she knows was achieved by themself.
There is a fine line between a parent helping a child with something and doing the task for them.
an example may be a science project, if the parent does the project for the child, the child will get the A they so badly wanted but also may have feelings of self-doubt!
(Feeling you did not think they could do it on their own)
Parents have to be very careful not to push their interests on a child and let them be an individual.
an example of this may be a situation with an avid golfer with a child who doesn't like golf at all,
this parent would have to accept a childs preference for other things.A child needs to find things he/she is good at and can do well with...sometimes a parents expectations can interfer with this...
Warning signs that a childs self esteem may be low include boastfulness, aggression, social withdrawl, jealousy, competitiveness, perfectionism, and blaming others for failure, showing insecurity or giving up on something before they have finished.
The first thing you have to do to build a child's self esteem is to build an environment where it is clear that they are loved and valued. This means hugging them, accepting their limitations while praising their strengths, and listening to your childs views and opinions about things. It also means spending time with your child on a one-on-one basis,"special time" to talk and get to know each other.
When correcting a child's inappropriate behavior be sure to address the behavior and not to label the child. Never belittle, or try to put constructive criticism in a positive context such as "you are USUALLY so good at sharing, I know you know better then that" after time out or Discipline of another type, be sure to follow up with happy, affectionate time,this helps to show your child that you love him or her no matter what! give compliments for a job well done, do not always point out what the child does wrong or has a hard time with. Set consistent limits, Lack of rules can make a child feel that you do not care enough about them to set rules,and their self esteem is affected. If they think you do not care about them then they feel there is no reason to care about themselves. Don't compare them to sibilings or to others.the child will then fail when trying to be just like someone else, and this too will cause low self esteem. Make sure chores and tasks you give to your child are appropriate for their age and their development.This way they are not set up to fail.Giving appropriate chores helps
Finally, model self-respect,If you are harshly critical of yourself or easily upset by disappointments, then your child will probably be the same way! Here is some ways to help a child to have high self esteem!! As important as it is to one's emotional health...It is vital that you use these things!!
