Building Confidence in Children

A child with confidence is a wonderful thing; therefore as adults, it is one of the most precious things we can instil into our children.

Children with little confidence are frightened of failing, worried they might disappoint others and therefore they shy away from new experiences or challenges. This can impact a childhood and potentially creep into adulthood.

Here are a 10 ideas for raising a confident child:

1. Always praise effort - they may not win, it might not be the best picture in the world, they may not 10/10 in their spelling test, but if they have worked hard, praise that effort.

2. Create opportunities for children to succeed so that know what it's like to have success. Applaud their courage.

3. Avoid labelling a child - children often become what they are told. Ensure your child has a positive view of themselves.

4. Let your child make decisions for themselves, that way they gain confidence in their own judgements.

5. Help your child to solve their own problems, this help them to feel confident in their own abilities.

6. Give constructive criticism; don't yell or scream at your child, help them to be the best they can be.

7. Don't try to control everything, allow children some freedom to make mistakes so that they can learn from it. Let children be bold.

8. Let them act their age. Expecting a child to behave like an adult is unrealistic and it will reduce confidence as a child realises he/she can't match those expectations.

9. Create new experiences and opportunities to be curious. Exposing children to new things, teaches them that no matter how worried they feel, they can rise above it and conquer it.

10. Show them how much you love them. Win or lose, good or bad make sure your child knows your love is unconditional. It's not just there when they're winning!

Mrs H