Confidence is the crown that everybody wears when they feel sure about their abilities and themselves, not in an arrogant way but realistic secure way. It is the belief that you have in yourself. The way you do small things in your day to day life say a lot about your confidence.
When it comes children, they are naturally confident. But parents may not understand the day-to-day incidents/events play an important role in boosting/losing confidence level. Sometimes unknowingly parents put boundaries to the level of confidence they exhibit, which suppress their curiosity level and also social interaction.
Let us understand how daily life activities can boost children’s confidence level.
Encouraging to do new things
Other than usual chores, set some SMART(specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based ) goals to achieve for children. When they attain these goals they feel a sense of completion there by the ability to take risk will be high. Parents need to just assist their children to complete the task, do not go overboard/involve yourself in it.
Do not fuss out mistakes
Obviously children do make mistakes when they try something new. When mistakes take place, do not make a fuss about it. Tell them there will be mistakes and also show them what to learn from the mistakes. When children make continuous errors, they may step back or stop. So make sure as a parent you do not bring out their failures in every discussion. Ban harsh criticism.
Learn to accept the failures
It is not always true that children should succeed in they try. At times they may fail also. As parents it is important to make them understand that failures are common. Also help them deal with emotions after setbacks. You can model such behaviours so that kids will understand. For instance, when you phrase sentences such as “That’s okay. You have tried , “We will learn from previous mistakes, try next time” it will have a positive effect on children.
Praise Wisely
Praising has advantages as well as disadvantages. When you praise them for the achievement make sure that you have praised their work and also critically analyse it. When you do this, the success or failure does not stop them from trying again new things.
So confidence is something that comes from within. When children do participate in different things, it is also important the thoughts they have in it. Just like a fish can’t climb the tree or elephant can’t swim, in the same way children’s ability to complete the task differs.
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