Having children is not as simple as it seems! In addition to taking care of basic aspects, such as food, studies and adequate shelter, parents must worry about other topics. Children's self-esteem is one of them! Developing the habit of looking at yourself with more love is one of the keys to a healthy childhood and adult life.
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Low self-esteem can affect people's lives in many ways. With children, this is no different. Not being able to deal with negative emotions, perfectionism and low tolerance for frustration are just some of the consequences of having low self-esteem.
For this reason, Irina Gorelik, a child psychologist, began to offer tips on how parents can positively influence this point in life. of children and young people, so that their children develop healthy self-esteem and become stronger and more confident children about themselves.
Let them feel all emotions, including negative ones.
In their eagerness to reduce their children's suffering, many parents may minimize or dismiss their children's negative emotions and feelings. Actions such as rejecting or pretending that something is not happening are harmful.
For this reason, the psychologist says it is important to let young people learn to feel all emotions, whether good or bad. In this way, in addition to learning to trust and accept their experiences, they learn that negative emotions are the other side of positive emotion. All are valid.
Don't Seek to "Fix" Your Children's Feelings
We can have a habit of offering advice to people, even our children; however, when the child reports some challenging or sad situation, let him speak. If possible, encourage her to label her emotions. That is, ask her to point out if she felt fear, anger or indignation, for example.
In general, let the little ones learn to solve their own problems, as long as we are talking of something that is clear that they themselves achieve on their own, that is, that is within the limits from them. You should only support and encourage, as the main role belongs to children.
Teach them about the growth mindset
Results are important, but even more important than the finish is teaching your children to value trajectory, effort and hard work. Appreciate your child's efforts instead of just focusing on the result.
This behavior is crucial for your child to develop self-confidence, regardless of whether he received an external reward or not. Words like “you worked hard to solve this equation” are more important than just praising the great performance on the test, for example.