We all know that adolescents and adults can suffer from low self-esteem. Little attention is paid to the self-esteem of younger children. Who would have thought that children could suffer from low self-esteem from the moment they develop a self-concept? The following tips are a few among the hundreds that can help you and your child build a health self-concept.

1. Give the child a chance to contribute to the family!
   Let him/her pick out a task or chore that s/he wouldn’t mind doing during the week. This task can be changed weekly. Even something simple can help the child feel like they are contributing to the well being of the family. An example could be letting the child dress himself or letting him help fold socks.
2. Encourage the small things.
   Sure, we all notice the big things that children do, for example getting an A on that hard math exam. It is important to encourage these big things as well as the small things! It can be something as simple as the child putting out the garbage without being asked to. Watch what the child is doing, for example, praise them on a drawing they are doing at the moment.
3. If they don’t succeed but they tried hard, praise them still!
   Children are very aware and touchy about failure. Telling them it’s ok to fail is extremely important.
4. Pay attention to them!
   It is often the case where children go unnoticed in families as a consequence of busy schedules and routines. Well, making just an hour a day to sit down with him/her to go over the day can help boost self-esteem. Feeling neglected and alone often leads to low self-esteem.
5. Talk with your children about their feelings!
   Children learn to appraise their emotions from their family and environment. You can be a guide to understanding their emotions by simply letting them talk about what made them happy during the day, and why. What made them angry during the day, and why. From here, you both can devise ways of helping the child understand emotions like anger and sadness. These emotions can sometimes be confusing for a child. An example would be a child being angry at his best friend. This might lead to dueling emotions. Yes, their friend made them angry but they still like that friend and want to play with their friend. This can be confusing for children!
6. Get your child involved in the community.
   Visit elderly homes, get them into sports. No matter what the task, children’s self esteem will flourish when they have a chance to be part of the community.

These are just a few of a whole list of things that you can do to build and maintain your child’s self-esteem. Healthy self-esteem is related to creativity, productivity, happiness and overall well being. So any help you can give them sets them on a good path.

[Photo Source: Flickr]