Confidence in Children – How to Build Your Child’s Confidence

Confidence in Children, child development

Do you know that most parents inadvertently end up reducing their child’s level of confidence instead of building it up? God knows they don’t intend to do so but due to a lack of understanding of psychology (especially child psychology) this is exactly what they end up achieving.

This article will give tips on building confidence in children using references to a boy (child). The same holds true for a girl.

Give Fewer Commands

“Don’t go there,” “You can’t jump from there,” “ You can’t touch that”—these all-important commands are a must to ensure your child’s safety but too many of these will make your child feel as if he has no control or authority over anything.

Not a feeling that would make anyone feel too confident, is it? So what should you do instead? For starters, if you notice yourself giving too many commands or warnings, STOP! Keep these reserved for the most important things like the child’s physical safety.

Try ignoring some of his actions and behaviors and your child is likely to take your commands and warnings more seriously since they won’t be a part of his daily life. Give fewer commands to build confidence in children

Nurture Independence

The other and more important thing to do to develop your child’s confidence is to enable him to try and do things on his own. It could be something as simple as undressing himself or wearing his clothes on his own or even brushing his hair, if he is a toddler.

The tasks need to be in keeping with your child’s age, so increase the level of challenge as per your child’s capability level. The basic idea is to help him stretch his limits so he doesn’t form a limited perception about his own abilities. You could vary the tasks every few days and you’ll do wonders for your child’s confidence level. He’ll get a fabulous sense of “I can!” every time he is able to do something he couldn’t do without support earlier.

This practice is especially important in the Indian context since many parents feel it is their duty to do everything for their child. The result is often a dependent individual who is low on some real self-confidence. Nurture independence to build confidence in children

A Case in Point

Rohan, 11, was a bright young man who enjoyed playing sports and spending time with his friends. He didn’t spend much time in studies and his mother had given up coaxing him after she sensed the low level of interest he had towards academics. His father wanted Rohan to spend his time in constructive activities instead of roaming around with his friends for hours every evening.

One day, his father took Rohan to his office and told him about the business he ran. He shared the problems they were facing and requested Rohan to share his suggestions for solving them. To his surprise, Rohan came up with some exciting solutions.

Encouraged by Rohan’s developing interest, his father shared more detailed information about the world of business and engaged him in work. He started to take Rohan to office every few days and made sure that he treated him to a pizza during these trips.

This initiative produced many positive results. Rohan became more interested in studies and also started contributing to his father’s work actively. This shaped Rohan’s personality wonderfully and he grew up to be an intelligent and confident young man who took over his father’s business at the young age of 24 and made it a success. This is a classic example of how building confidence in children helps towards a successful future.

Conclusion – Confidence in children

Enable a child to do as much as possible on his own instead of doing everything for him and leaving him feeling bored and under-stimulated. Confidence in children is critical. A more confident individual is bound to emerge if such a parenting approach is followed.

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About the Author

Richa is a writer and a life skills coach with seven years of work experience in training corporate professionals. She has trained employees in Soft skills, Sales and Business English.

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