6 June 2021

How nice would it be if we could raise our kids with confidence, spunk, and compassion altogether? Indeed, that’s what every parent aspires to. It is important for children to grow up with courage and confidence to face the hard knocks of the world. When children are equipped with the right essence of confidence and compassion, they not only survive the challenging world but also successfully thrive in it.

As a parent, one of the greatest gifts you can give your child is confidence. A confident child feels good about himself/herself and gets a positive and realistic perception of his/her abilities. Every encouraging word spoken, every effort taken to instill self-love, and every achievement made – either great or small, has an impact on their self-confidence level. So, it is the responsibility of every parent to bolster their child’s self-esteem and sense of competence, which subsequently instills in them a strong feeling of self-confidence.

Though we, at JP International School, understand that every child is unique, there are several general rules of thumb that parents can follow to build their kids’ confidence.

Love your child

One of the best things you can do to raise a confident child is to love them unconditionally and teach them self-love. It is important for a child to feel loved and accepted, by all means. As a parent, you have to dole out plenty of love towards your kid. Starting from the family and extending to friends, peers, and the community, a child needs to be loved. Do not ignore or yell at them, and even if you do, reciprocate with a hug and tell them you love, no matter what. Unconditional love is what builds a sense of confidence in the child.

Give praise where it is due

Positive feedback is important for children to feel good about themselves. As a parent, you need to give your kid the praise they deserve. This is because young children measure their worth and achievements solely by what they think of them. However, be realistic in your acts of praising them. When they fail at something, praise their effort and not the outcome of it. This way, they will be reassured that it is ok to mess up at times and move on after giving the best effort. Also, inspire them with the confidence to keep pouring in repeated efforts and more practice to achieve the thing that they initially failed with.

Teach resilience

Teaching your children to be resilient is the key to boosting self-esteem. They need to understand that not everyone succeeds or does things perfectly all the time. Let your child know that setbacks are a normal part of life. Even when they are faced with failures and setbacks, criticism and pain, they need to learn to stay resilient and not give up. Because every disappointment in life is a learning experience and must set the tone for their next attempt. Teach them how they should bounce back into action and not dwell on those hard times. Talk to them about what they can do to succeed next time, and certainly, they will take pride in their accomplishment. Indeed, learning from mistakes builds more confidence in them.

Provide encouragement

The words of encouragement from parents can give children a kind of confidence boost to keep them moving forward. Encouraging a child and acknowledging their hard work will help develop their confidence. Hence, keep inspiring your children to try new things and explore their abilities.

We, at JP International School, a renowned CBSE School in Greater Noida, believe that if you spend quality time with your kids and provide them with a generous amount of encouraging words, it can do wonders in seeding immense confidence in your little ones. Moreover, encouraging children to realize their interests and allowing them to pursue their dreams and aspirations would help them grow up more confident about themselves. We, at JPIS, have always remained inclined towards instilling positive core values in children and giving them the needed esteem boost to empower them into adults who are confident and self-assured. And this is indeed the right way to set the little ones up for success.

- JP International School