“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
– E.E. Cummings
It is very important for you, as a parent, to empower your child to be confident. Confidence is the surest path to success — when your child believes in himself or herself, he or she will take more risks in life and be more likely to accomplish their goals.
Decades of studies by experts such as Diana Baumrind, a clinical and developmental psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, have found that parents should be involved and responsive towards their children. Particularly, they should set high expectations and respect their child’s autonomy.
If you're not sure where to start, here are some effective ways to help your child become happier, more self-assured and successful.
Confidence begins with strong resilience.
As you watch your child grow, you can help improve his or her self-confidence by giving him or her opportunities to practise and master different skills. Whether it's learning a new sport or taking up music lessons, acquiring new skills goes a long way in helping your child build self-esteem.
This is because picking up new skills requires resilience.
Let your child make mistakes. It is important for you and your child to remember that resilience does not come from failing, but from your child's experience of learning to pick himself or herself up, trying again, and eventually succeeding. Don't forget to be there to boost your child's spirit so he or she is driven to keep trying — you are your child's biggest cheerleader!
As your child grows up and begins to find his or her footing in life, remember that it's not about doing things for your child, it's about doing things with him or her.
When your child learns and is able to make his or her own choices, he or she will naturally feel more empowered and therefore more confident.
Giving your young one household duties or small tasks can increase his or her confidence, as it will help your child feel more responsible and start channelling his or her energy into mastering new skills. You may start with something simple like getting your child to make his or her bed in the morning or cleaning his or her room. When he or she is more confident, you can let your child manage larger tasks like washing the dishes after dinner or helping you to buy groceries from the market!
Related Article: How To Raise A Responsible Child
When your child meets hurdles and challenges, help him or her work through the problems instead of solving them for your child. As a parent, it is crucial to guide your child through difficulties so he or she can eventually learn to solve problems on his or her own.
As your child learns how to handle disappointment or frustration in his or her journey towards success, he or she will develop feelings of confidence and competence. Once again, remember to always encourage your child, but do not let him or her depend completely on you.
Let your child be the one to find solutions and who knows, he or she may surprise you with some of his or her own creative ways.
Don’t hold back from praising your child, but be careful about how you praise him or her. You might want to try placing more focus on his or her effort and growth than on the absolute outcome. It’s more meaningful for your child when you recognise the work he or she has put in rather than simply praising the results.
When you respond with, “I can tell you put a lot of time into this,” it encourages your child to develop a strong work ethic. Your child may feel motivated and think to himself or herself, “Yes, I did work hard! I did a good job on this!”
This is one way children develop internal motivation and confidence — when they are the ones who recognise their own efforts and think, “Yes, I am proud of myself!”
Developing self-esteem and confidence in your child is not something that can be achieved immediately; it's a long term process and is important for your child in the long run.
As a parent, your child's happiness is of the utmost importance. You want him or her to grow into a happy and successful individual.
And as educators, we want to play a bigger part in helping you to nurture your child into a strong and confident learner. Our lessons will provide your child with opportunities to pick up new skills, learn through failure, build courage and better understand the world he or she is in.
We'd love for your child to join us in class!
The Learning Lab is now available at locations.
If you have any enquiries about our programmes, please email us at enquiry@thelearninglab.com.sg or call us at 6733 8711 and we will be happy to assist you.