Self-Esteem Building Activities to Try

Do you ever have those times where all you can think about are your faults? Does it feel like you can’t seem to “get anything right?” Unreal expectations can take a toll on our day to day lives and create self-doubt. This negative self-doubt can impact how we think and feel about ourselves, something called Self-Esteem. A healthy self-esteem involves feeling confident, believing in yourself, and recognizing your strengths. Healthy self-esteem is typically associated with coping skills, perspective taking, and managing difficulties. As a result, it’s helpful for children to start building their self-esteem at a young age so that they can succeed in school and achieve personal goals.

Children who have a healthy self-esteem show traits such as confidence in their abilities, being proud of their achievements, seeing their strengths, and not letting mistakes define their worth. When children feel confident, they talk positively about themselves and know how to accept a compliment. If they’re proud of their achievements they may become open to trying new things without the fear of failure. When children are able to focus on their strengths, they won’t allow any “weaknesses” to hold them back from taking healthy risks. They’ll keep trying when faced with challenges instead of giving up easily. Lastly, children with a healthy self-esteem feel accepted by others rather than unlikable.

One way you can increase your child’s self-esteem is by allowing them to make independent decisions yet still teaching them how to make healthy and safe choices. The goal is to help children trust themselves while creating a safe space for them to learn new ideas. Authentic praise for children is kind and uplifting yet informative. Offering authentic praise for your child’s accomplishments will allow them to see their strengths and build confidence.

You can further improve your child’s self-esteem by encouraging participation in activities where they feel good about themselves, their efforts, and the outcome. Use positive affirmations (have them repeat positive statements about themselves or fill a jar with positive statements and have them pick one each day), physical activities (playing sports, riding a bike, swimming, dancing, or exercising), gardening (planting seeds and watering plants can help them feel successful and learn about how patience, responsibility, and consistency results in growth), set small and reachable goals each week that they can feel proud for completing, and engage in new opportunities to learn and develop a growth mindset.

Navjot Pannu, Midwestern University Clerkship Student

MASK the Parenting Magazine a quarterly publication providing solutions for Today’s Families.

The parenting manual offering solutions to the modern-day challenges families face. From Pre-K

through College stay up to date on the modern day issues families face.

Are you up to date on the issues your child is facing?

MASK Mothers Awareness on School-age Kids offers parenting solutions for today’s families. MASK tackles important topics – from drugs and alcohol to bullying and Internet safety -and gives students,

parents and the community the knowledge and tools to manage these potential challenges.

Subscribe today! https://www.tools4teaching.com/product/mask-the-magazine/