There are plenty of different things that determine how successful a child will be in their adult life, but there are arguably none as influential as their confidence levels. Having plenty of confidence can make up for shortcomings in other years. Conversely, lacking confidence can result in even the most talented of individuals failing to reach their full potential.
Some children seem to have naturally occurring confidence, but that’s not usual. And in fact, it’s worth helping to instill confidence in your child, even if you think they’re naturally confident — some people are good at simply suggesting they have confidence. Impressions can be misleading.
Happily, there are a bunch of things parents can do that’ll slowly but surely nudge their child’s confidence in the right direction. We’ve rounded up some of the best and most effective — not to mention some of the easiest — strategies. Take them on board, and you’ll be giving your child the best possible chance of developing into a confident adult, and you simply never know what that might lead to. It’s not an exaggeration to say that confidence is one of the best gifts that a parent can give their child.
For more on this topic, check out the full Child Behavior collection
Encourage Autonomy
OK, by this, we don’t mean encouraging them to do everything on their own. You’ve still got to parent them! What we mean is that, whenever possible, your child should have the freedom to do things on their own. Individuals (and that includes adults) gain confidence by understanding that they are capable people who have the capacity to do things themselves, and your child won’t understand that if you’re constantly doing everything for them. Plus, this approach also lightens your load — if your child packs their own school bag, then you don’t need to.
Accepting Failure
Nobody wants to fail, but learning how to accept failure is a key part of gaining confidence. Teaching your child that not every pursuit will end in success — and that that’s OK — can help them to develop a positive relationship with their goals and outcomes. Plus, aside from simply helping your child to reframe failure into something positive, this can also spur them to put in extra effort the next time around. Not convinced about this approach? Then take a look at the failures of some of the world’s most successful people. They would never have eventually made it if they didn’t have the confidence to carry on moving forward after experiencing failure.
Mental Well-Being
An individual’s confidence level depends, in large part, on their overall mental well-being. Even generally confident people can struggle if their mental health isn’t as healthy as it should be.
Helping your child develop their mental well-being can improve their confidence in countless ways. It can change how they speak to themselves, help them develop their barriers, and give them the fortitude to take bad days in their stride. Ultimately, healthy mental well-being can give your child the slight edge they need to achieve — and maintain — confidence.
Teaching your child the power of breathwork, meditation, and yoga as early as possible can give them the platform upon which their confidence can grow. Plus, those activities also offer a wide range of other advantages.
Trying New Things
Your child will have things that they’re already great at, and that can be extremely useful for building confidence. However, developing confidence also depends on stepping outside of our comfort zones and trying new things. Doing so can show your child that they’re capable of so much more than they originally thought. There’s no shortage of confidence-boosting activities that your child can do, too. Signing your child up for karate classes or having them join a sports team can do wonders for their confidence levels, for instance. You could also encourage them to learn a musical instrument, which can be a confidence-booster and also unlock a passion that stays with them for the rest of their lives.
Praise Positive Traits
We spoke earlier that helping your child have a healthy relationship with failure is a good way to build their confidence. Another way to develop their confidence is to praise positive attributes, which focuses on the process rather than the end result. For instance, you may praise them for showing imagination when they were doing their English homework, or simply praise their perseverance when trying to work out a math problem. Just note that this praise should always be genuine; children tend to tune out if they’re being praised for every little thing.
Manage Your Worries
All parents worry about their children, and there’ll be times when you want to micromanage whatever it is they’re doing just to ensure that they’re safe and do things correctly. However, it’s best to be at least a little mindful of taking control of situations. While you might have the best of intentions, to your child, it might be a signal that you don’t fully trust them. Your child won’t always get everything right, but there’s a lot to be said for trial and error. They might not get it right at the first time of asking, but with a little bit of guidance, they’ll be likely to be successful the next time around. That process includes them in the process, rather than having things done for them.
Invest in Your Own Confidence
Finally, keep in mind that your child is going to learn more from you beyond just what you tell them. Your behavior will have a huge impact too. Confident people are more likely to raise confident children; those with low self-esteem are more likely to raise children who have confidence issues. As such, one of the best ways to encourage your child to have confidence is to invest in your own confidence. This is more than just something that you’ll do for your child, too — you’ll also benefit! There are real-world, tangible benefits to working to increase your confidence levels, the biggest of which is that it’s simply easier to reach your full potential when your confidence levels are sky high.
For more on this topic, check out the full Child Behavior collection
