You want the best for your children—their education, their health, their successes in any and every aspect of their lives! Unfortunately, there may still be some things that you do not even realize are affecting your child’s confidence. Things like mental health, physical appearance, and independence are all elements of their life that you can help turn into strengths instead of insecurities.
Mental Wellbeing
The average mental health of children today has seen a significant decline in recent decades. This is largely attributed to the pressures created by technology and social media, constantly highlighting the successes of everyone else and creating a platform of consistent comparison. Check on your child’s mental well -being! Are they generally happy and energized? Do they get their tasks done? Do they interact with friends? How do they interact with you or their siblings day-to-day? According to Discovery, if you realize that the answers to these questions suggest that your child may be struggling with feeling happy or motivated, consider consulting with professionals on how you can best help your child. Be patient, understanding, and do your best to encourage and provide positive attitudes and reinforcement as part of their home environment.
Physical Appearance
Children begin to notice physical differences between them and their peers very early in life. While you don’t need to encourage physical perfection or join the social competition of physical appeal, there are small things you can do to help your child feel like they look good. One big offender of self-image is teeth! According to Stellar Kids Dentistry, having crooked teeth can negatively impact your child’s self-esteem. Proper dental care and necessary orthodontia are valuable for the confidence they will provide your child in the long run.
Independence
Taking care of your child’s living necessities is part of your job as a parent. However, sometimes parents find that their “care” has spread to all aspects of their child’s life, which can actually affect your child’s ability (or confidence in their ability) to do things on their own. Rather than constantly checking in on their status and location, inserting yourself into their social lives and solving all their failures, according to Today’s Parent, you should take a step back (as difficult as that may be) and let them learn! Be there to support your kids emotionally, but allow them to go through the trial and error that will help them build confidence in themselves.
Help your kids feel good about themselves and their capabilities to do hard things! This is a valuable quality that they need, and will be grateful you taught them, for their entire lives.
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