Often times in my interactions with children, I come across some of the most wonderful and sensitive minds. The way these kids think and see the world humbles me. Recently, I came across a very disturbing incident. I had the opportunity to meet this very sweet and bright young lady (let’s name her P). Her parents came to me because they were afraid their little girl was being bullied.
And she was. Her self-esteem was being affected and I realized the best way she could deal with all the negative energy around her was to build a positive one inside her. And that’s where I tried my confidence building activities for kids. And it worked!
P now has the confidence to talk to her bullies and stand up for herself.
For many of us parents, bullying is one of the scariest things our children might encounter. You might have heard some very disturbing bullying stories.
Sadly, bullying is still a pretty important impediment to a child’s development even now when a lot has been done to deal with it. And I assume bullying will continue to be an issue.
What we can do as parents is to instill confidence in our little ones.
Why is Confidence important in kids?
A child’s confidence is his belief in himself. A confident child approaches life with a positive mindset. And with this positive mindset he can grow and develop at a pretty good pace. When your child is confident, he is less likely to be impacted by peer pressure and negative comments.
9 Confidence Building Activities for Kids
Try these 9 confidence building activities for kids to build your child’s self-esteem and self-worth:
Praise Your Child
Every day find at least one thing your child has done a good job on, and praise him.
When praising your child, be specific. Instead of saying, ‘Good job!’, try saying, ‘I love the way you drew the neck of your dinosaur’ or ‘I loved the way you colored within the lines’.
A specific praise makes your praise comes across as more genuine. And when you praise your child, you are telling them you are proud of them. And because you, the parent, is your child’s biggest role model, that praise means a lot to your child. When you give them a praise for something, they are more likely to repeat the behavior. They want that praise.
Every day praise more than you criticize. It builds your child’s self-worth and self-esteem, which later translates into confidence.
Let Them Hear You Praise Them
Many times, our children are a source of pride for us. We silently beam at their accomplishments. But sometimes, it is okay to sing their praise in front of others. Find an equally proud grandmother or father, and talk about your child’s accomplishment in his presence. Children love that!
Create A Wall of Fame
Create a wall of fame. It doesn’t have to be something very huge. Even your refrigerator wall will do. Find something that your child did very well and put that on the wall of fame. Make a big thing out of it when you put up that project on your wall of fame.
Do a round of applause and say a few lines about it. It can be any accomplishment. If they have helped their sister with something, you can create a small certificate of achievement and put it up all the wall.
Create a mix for all these achievements. It can be behavior one day, and academic the next day. If your child is struggling with something, try to include more of those small achievements in the wall of fame. For example, if your child is struggling with social interactions, praise his social wins. So every time your child initiates a conversation with someone else, or even smiles at a stranger, get that accomplishment on your Wall of Fame.
Give Them Age-Appropriate Tasks
When your give your child tasks to do, you make them feel needed. Their self-worth develops when they realize that they are contributing. These age-appropriate tasks might help:
At the start of the day, list down each child’s chores. Tell them they are expected to finish these tasks before the end of the day (or give them a deadline). When they finish the task, give them appropriate praise.
Remember, they might not do a very good job in the beginning but refrain from pointing out what they did wrong. Guide them to do the task better, but don’t belittle their work and redo it once they have done it.
Let Them Lead
Find a task where you let your child be the lead. Get him to direct you. This could be a game they invented (kids love inventing those). Just follow their lead and have fun.
Ask For Their Input
Frequently turn to your child for advice. Many times, as adults, we might know better but some time your child’s input can give you a fresh perspective to the situation.
Asking your child for input makes them feel important. It builds those blocks of self-esteem.
Discover And Explore Their Passions
Every day, spend at least 15 minutes with your child exploring their passions. Figure out what they like to do. And in those 15 minutes, encourage that passion. Offer them the tools to explore and build on that passion. Get down and explore it with them.
Avoid Comparisons
Though this can’t be counted as part of confidence building activities, I felt I should include it too.
Every child is different. And every child is an accomplishment in his own skill set. Explore those skill sets and be content with your child’s accomplishment.
As parents, sometimes we compare our children. ‘See how Piper cleaned up the mess’. ‘Oliver didn’t cry when I asked him to prepare for bed’.
Try not to compare your child. It makes the child feel like he is letting the parent down and this chips away his confidence.
Try New Things
For children, we are the biggest role models. Confident parents raise confident children.
Try new things yourself. And get your child involved in the task. Every week or month, think of something new to do with your child. Try something that scared you initially. It doesn’t have to be something big. It can something simple like trying out a new cuisine.
As always, I hope these confidence building activities will help your child build his confidence. If you notice your child struggling and these strategies aren’t helping, I would love to help you determine your child’s individual needs. Please reach out to set up a free consultation. We are here to support you as you help your child blossom!
If you have any ideas on confidence building activities for kids, please join us in our FREE Facebook community and let’s make these an even 10!
If you enjoyed reading 9 Confidence Building Activities for Kids, you might also enjoy reading:
Three Games for Helping Children Follow Directions
Positive Parenting: How to be a happy parent.
