9 Tips on How to Build Confidence in Your Toddlers
Do you have a kid who always seems so shy and always wants to cling on to you? You might need to help them develop their confidence. Having a sense of pride, self-respect, and trust in themselves is a necessary skill for anyone and building that early on in your kid will help them handle life’s challenges.
Here are some tips to help them become more confident:
Offer choices
Letting your little ones choose between 2 possibilities over small things like choosing a red shirt or a yellow shirt can help them feel like you trust their judgment, thereby boosting their confidence. So practice the art of letting them choose over simple matters.
Never compare
Most of the time, parents compare their kids to other seemingly better kids in the hopes of inspiring the former but it is never a good idea as it will only actually deteriorate your kid’s growing confidence in themselves. So never compare your kid to anyone and celebrate their individuality instead.
Let them make mistakes
Helping them realize that mistakes are not always a bad thing, especially if they can learn something from it, would lessen their fear in trying out new things, making them more confident, bold and fearless. So let them mess up and help them learn from their mistakes.
Accept their emotions
Let them know that it’s okay to express how they feel. Kids who are comfortable in expressing their emotions in the right way, grow up to become well-adjusted, confident adults. It makes them feel seen and heard when you just accept what they’re feeling without judgment and comparison, showing them that you value them as individuals.
Be specific about praises
Enhance their confidence and sense of accomplishment by acknowledging and celebrating the positive things they’ve done, specifically. Tell them directly or let them know within earshot, what specific actions they’ve done right and watch them beam with pride.
Be a good example
Your kids are always looking at you and copying you so lead a good example to them. Show them how a confident person acts and reacts. Avoid saying things to yourself that are demeaning and critical as they might think the actions are okay and normal, and mirror them too.
Watch your words
Words carry weight so always think before you speak, especially in front of your children. When your little ones seem timid and you’re telling someone that they’re just being shy, that’s what they will believe about themselves. So always watch out what you say, as your words can become your kids’ reality.
Go small first
Introduce your kid to a smaller group first before venturing out to a bigger crowd. Wait for them to be comfortable and be more confident in an intimate setting then introduce them to a bigger group later on.
Let them try
If you’re always rushing to help them, they will grow up believing that they can’t do it on their own and would always need yours or someone else’s. So be more encouraging, let them try out something first by themselves. If for example, your toddler wants to put on their own shoes, let them do it. Even if it will take them 20 minutes to do so, it’s one of the very first step of boosting their confidence in their abilities.
Nurture your kid’s self-esteem slowly but surely with the steps above and see them turn into well-adjusted, self-reliant and confident kids.
-My Gym Editorial Team –