The children of today often lack self-confidence. They grow up not being particularly confident in their abilities. With every problem they are faced with, they become frazzled, and they don’t quite know how to handle overcoming obstacles. But read on for some beneficial child self esteem activities.
If you’re having difficulty getting your child to complete tasks, he or she may be lacking in self-confidence. As parents, there are ways to develop self-confidence in your child. It’s totally teachable and will empower your children to dream more and achieve more in their lives.
The right kind of confidence is important to have. And it’s not about having blind faith in our abilities, but rather, about understanding what we are capable of, our limits, and how we can work around our strengths and weaknesses.
We’ve come up with a list of ways to help you instill self-confidence in your children. Today, Evolve Daily shares five ways you can help build your children’s self-confidence.
Child Self Esteem Activities To Build That Confidence
1) Martial Arts Classes
One great way to help instill confidence in your children and teach them about life is to sign them up for a children’s martial arts class.
Better yet, be a great role model and experience martial arts yourself by training alongside them.
Martial arts training is an incredible way to build self-confidence in your children. It’s an amazing tool that will teach them the ways of self-defense, allow them to interact with other children as they solve problems, complete tasks, grow, and develop together.
What your children can learn from martial arts classes, they won’t learn anywhere else. The lessons they accumulate can also be applied to their daily lives outside of the martial arts gym. Give your kids the gift of martial arts and build better self-confidence in them.
2) Learn Through Experience
Child self esteem activities: A fun-filled children’s Muay Thai class at Evolve MMA (KINEX) in Singapore. | Photo: Evolve MMA
In life, there is no greater teacher than experience. Nowadays, children are too caught up in the digital world. While technology does have merit as an educational tool, it’s important that the youth not lose touch with the real world. This includes experiencing the world the way it’s meant to be experienced.
Children need to learn through tactile experience. They need to be able to observe and learn from the physical world around us. A large part of growing and development is making mistakes, because it is from making mistakes that we are taught lessons. We can’t make mistakes unless we go out there and try.
Allow your children to take controlled risks. Of course, always guide them through everything but let them discover their place in the world on their own. Help them to understand that failure is part of the learning process. Lastly, offer solutions to some of the problems they encounter.
3) Be A Good Role Model
BJJ Champion Valdir Rodrigues is also his daughter’s BJJ instructor! | Photo: Evolve MMA
One of the most important things in parenthood is that we are good role models for our children. They learn from us first, by emulating us. Children learn from what they see us do and hear us say as young as just a few months old. It’s important for us as parents to set a good example.
Always strive to show your children that you can handle every situation in life with a cool and calm mind. At the same time, it’s also important to show them that it’s okay to struggle and that having problems is part of life.
Talk to your child constantly about the challenges they face in school, in social interactions. Help your child discover his/her strengths and weaknesses, and help them understand that it’s okay to have weaknesses.
Above all, modeling the right, positive attitude in everything you do is paramount to developing self-confidence in your child. Live life cheerfully and with a positive outlook.
4) Focus On Strengths, But Acknowledge Weaknesses
Child self esteem activities: The self-confidence children learn from martial arts sticks with them throughout life. | Photo: Evolve MMA
Help your children discover their strengths and weaknesses. A lack of self-confidence often comes from insecurities. But if you teach your children how to embrace their weaknesses and treat them as areas of opportunity, their weaknesses soon become their strengths. Furthermore, they gain the confidence of knowing that if they work hard to improve a certain skill, anything is achievable. Children who understand this early are able to develop their abilities faster and more efficiently.
Help your children understand that not everything is easy, that some things are very difficult. Most importantly, that they should keep trying and not give up easily.
Lastly, pay attention to what your children do well and enjoy, and then celebrate those aspects of their lives. It’s important to not just embrace weakness, but also to champion strength. When your children understand what they are good at, they gain confidence in their abilities.
5) Teach Them To Embrace Differences
Child self esteem activities: A fun-filled martial arts class at Evolve MMA (Orchard Central) in Singapore. | Photo: Evolve MMA
Children will often compare themselves to others because they want to fit in. But it’s important to teach them at an early age that every individual is unique and different. This way, children learn how to celebrate differences and become more comfortable in their own skin.
It’s important for children to understand at an early age that not everyone is the same. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses, and we all handle situations differently. What works for one person, may not work for the next.
Help your children understand that individuals come in different shapes and sizes, colors, and cultural upbringings. Teach them to respect everyone’s own unique backgrounds. By understanding that people are different, your children will then become more confident in their unique selves.
Most importantly, this also teaches your children not to alienate or discriminate against others. It fosters a healthy mindset and improves their ability to socially interact.
As you can see, there are many different ways to help to build your children’s self-confidence. If possible, use a bit of all the points above. If you want them to try out a martial arts class, sign them up for a trial class today!
This article was first published on Evolve MMA and was republished on theAsianparent with permission.
Also read: 5 Ways To Ensure Your Child Doesn’t Become A Victim Of Bullying