What Are the Best Activities for Raising Kids' Self-Esteem?

 Kids have it hard today, in some ways. The things that are advantages for them, such as instant communication and social media, can also have very negative effects. Whether it's bullying that can follow the child everywhere they go or pressure to compare themselves with impossible images, many kids are left with low self-esteem. However, it's entirely possible to help a child raise their self-esteem till they end up feeling good about themselves. Here are a few approaches.

Do Things with Your Kids

 Although a kid's self-esteem (or lack of it) can be influenced by a wide varietyof sources, it's their parents who have the greatest effect. In general, children who feel valued by the parents tend to have far higher self-esteem than those who don't. The best way of making them feel valued is to spend time sharing their activities. That doesn't mean pushing into everything they do, of course, but find activities they'll enjoy sharing with you. Having security and feeling important at home will help raise their confidence with their peers.

Focus on Your Kids' Positives

 Although learning from failure is crucial for a child's development, too much failure or poor performance can damage their self-esteem. So focus on what your kids are good at, whether that's reading, sports or making you laugh, rather than telling them what you think they ought to be good at. You can even set up scenarios where you're confident that they'll do well. Praise their successes, rather than criticising failures. The self-esteem this will build can give them the confidence to move onto things that are harder for them and learn to deal with setbacks in their efforts.

Encourage Your Kids to Solve Problems with Their Peers

 Learning to solve problems is essential for all children's development, but doing it in collaboration with their peers can also raise their self-esteem. Experiencing success as part of a team will give them more confidence with other children. So encourage your kids to invite their friends over and give them games and puzzles to solve that are fun as well as challenging. This can be anything from a treasure hunt to building something with Lego — as long as it's fun and they can succeed as a team.

Help Your Kids Express Their Feelings

 One of the most difficult things for children with low self-esteem is to talk about what they're feeling — but it's also one of the best things they can do. Don't push them too hard, but encourage them to realise they can talk about anything with you, in their own time. The most important thing is to show them it's OK to feel inadequate. Talk to them about a problem you've had and how it made you feel, as well as how you overcame it. If they see you as knowing how they might be feeling, they're more likely to open up.

Encourage Your Kids to Play Outside

 Good mental health has a strong connection with good physical health, and that will improve the more your kids play actively and in fresh air. There's a place for indoor activities (even carefully rationed video games), but children who play outside a lot tend to be healthier and happier than those who stay indoors. You need to make sure they're safe, of course, but children who play outside a good deal with their friends, running and jumping, taking small, acceptable risks, are likely to have higher self-esteem. And that can give them resilience against what they'll encounter in both childhood and adulthood. Register with TutorExtrato find more ways of helping your children's healthy development.