5 Ways to Raise Confident Kids
Dive headfirst into an exhilarating celebration of National Dare Day! We challenge you and your little ones to break free from the ordinary and embrace endless possibilities. Encourage your little ones to dare to try new things by fostering unshakeable self-confidence within them. With a little sprinkle of self-confidence, your kids will learn to embrace challenges and step out of their comfort zone. Check out 5 practical tips on what you can do to help your child develop enough self-confidence to take on the world!
1. Unconditional Love
Though we all have different ways of expressing love, don't be afraid to tell them that you love them verbally. Remember, the timing of when you remind them that you love them is always very important. If we only tell them that we love them during moments of success, they will eventually pick up on it and associate your love for them with success. Make sure during moments of setbacks that you not only provide emotional support for them but also remind them that you love them.
2. Promote Independence
As much as we want to do everything for our kids, sometimes we should step back and let them do their thing. When we delegate age-appropriate tasks to them, they will not only learn more about becoming responsible individuals, but also gain a sense of confidence through understanding and witnessing that they are capable of accomplishing tasks by themselves. The tiny dose of dopamine they'll experience from putting all the laundry into the washing machine all by themselves will spark a sense of self-confidence within them that will follow them along for the rest of their lives, pushing them to step out of their comfort zone and face the world head-on. Of course, giving them their own responsibilities will look different for each child and at each age.
Ideas for Age-Appropriate Tasks:
Ages 2-3:
- Put toys away
- Put clothes into the laundry hamper
- Wipe up spills
Ages 4-5:
- Make their beds
- Bring in the mail
- Water flowers/plants
- Unload utensils from dishwasher
Ages 6-8
- Help make and pack lunch
- Sort Laundry
- Set and clear table
3. Provide Specific Praises
When you think about boosting confidence, your mind naturally gravitates toward providing compliments. What better way to boost your confidence than by having others compliment you! But, we want to be very careful with this, especially how we word our compliments. Because if we do it wrong, we can actually be harming their self-confidence!
How to give compliments that foster confidence?
1. Focus Less on the accomplishment
2. Focus more on their efforts
Learn more about giving compliments that foster confidence and a growth mindset
4. Let your kids catch you talking about them!
When having friends over, instead of spending time talking about all your kids' problems and all the areas your kids fall short in, have them catch you talking about all the areas they excel in (specifically focusing on efforts instead of accomplishments)! There's a time and a place for conversations like these, and near your kids is not the right time or place. And yes, talking about their negative traits in a different language is still not okay! Just because they can't understand it doesn't mean that they can't sense that you're talking about them! Nothing is more detrimental to a kid than hearing their own parents talk and complain about them to other people.
5. Be their BIGGEST Cheerleader
Regardless of their successes and failures, always be their biggest supporters. Though it's easy to cheer and celebrate successes, make sure you also cheer them on during moments of setbacks because each setback is a stepping stone towards success. These little achievements are progress as well and should still be noticed regardless of how small or minor these steps are.
Phrases kids NEED to hear but don't hear often enough:
"I believe in you"
"You are enough"
"I love you no matter what"
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