Raising a Confident Child

Raising a confident child – here is what you need to know about raising confident kids.

Raising a confident child

It is an important thing for parents to learn about how a child feels in regard to confidence. Parenting a baby, parenting children, raising a family is all about so much more than meeting practical needs.

Your child’s self esteem is crucial to their happiness and well-being and has to be prioritized not just in regard to school but in regard to all areas of their life. Confidence is such an important things to learn about and encourage in our kids.

Create your own confidence

My new book Create Your own Confidence for 6-12 years old is packed with ideas for those of you raising a confident child

So what constitutes a confident child?

Confidence is a belief in oneself, the conviction that one has the ability to meet life’s challenges and to succeed—and the willingness to act accordingly. Being confident requires a realistic sense of one’s capabilities and feeling secure in that knowledge. (Psychology today)

Would it not be wonderful to raise your child to become a confident and compassionate individual? Well, kids learn to be self-confident whenever they take on challenges and succeed, although it has become commonplace to encourage failure among kids as it helps build resilience, success can significantly boost your kid’s confidence.

With the following tips on raising a confident child, you will be able to help your child build self-confidence and grit without stalling their development in life.

1. Raising a confident child means being their coach

In the same way a coach can help an athlete develop their skills, you can also develop your kid’s skills and build their confidence. Be careful not to be too controlling. Come up with activities that you can do together and instead of doing it for them, let your kid exercise their own competence.

2. Build the foundation for confidence – one of the key tips to raising a confident child

As a parent, it goes without saying that loving your child is the easiest and most obvious way to develop confidence in your kid. However, it is easy to forget that love is a repeated daily action and not just a feeling. Make your child feel accepted even when they fail or make mistakes. By giving your child a hug and offering unconditional love, you will build a foundation from which their confidence can grow.

3. Support your confident child in their passion and talents

In some cases, it’s easy for parents to overlook their kid’s passions and talents. Do not make this mistake. It’s a wonderful thing when your kid shows interest in certain activities. When they manage to build or create something, give them praise and encouragement no matter how simple and small the achievement is.

Raising a confident child

4. Be (a tiny bit) authoritative

Just because you love and support your kids does not mean they get to do whatever they want. Granted, it can be difficult for most parents to establish authority while being supportive. However, your child needs consistent guidance to gain the confidence of knowing what is right and wrong.

5. Raising a confident child means setting them up for success

The best way to keep your child self-motivated and encouraged is to give them tasks they can manage. Teach them to keep at it until they succeed. Whether it’s playing the piano or creating a science fair project, teach them to manage their frustrations until they succeed. Give a helping hand if need be but don’t come to their rescue as it might make them fill incompetent.

6. Don’t try to be perfect when raising a confident child

Let your child learn without your interference even when the results are not perfect. This can boost their confidence to a great extent. And don’t ty and appear perfect yourself it can put an impossible strain on a child to see this role modelled. Instead aim for your best self but real, being human is where it is at – you are not a robot and nor should they aspire to be.

7. Give positive feedback to raise a confident child

Positive feedback can be a great way to encourage confidence in your child. Acknowledge their effort more than the results. By giving positive feedback on their effort you will help them put in more effort to succeed.

8. Encourage independence

When your child is willing to try new things, even though you might need to supervise while they are still too young, let them feel independent. For instance, let them try out a new hobby while you watch them from the side without intervening.

9. Instil the element of adventure when raising a confident child

Apart from being independent to do what they love, encourage them to explore and experience the thrill of adventure. Whether its outings with new friends or vacation trips, expand your child’s horizon by giving them new experiences

10. Build their resilience is key to raising a confident child

Unfortunately, success doesn’t come all the time. Teach your child to build resilience when they fail. By teaching your child to be comfortable with the feeling of failure, they get to learn that it’s a normal part of life. Give them support and encouragement and they will soon bounce back

Reflect on whether you were a confident child

Think about if you were a confident child and if not why not/ really examine this. If you were NOT a confident kid what caused that? Try and avoid making the same mistakes. And, if you were a confident child then what helped? Was it hobbies or praise or responsibility or nurturing? really give this some reflection and bring these elements into your own child’s life.

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Why confidence matters so much

Take a look at these fabulous confidence quotes to see why it matters so much and how it can really change things for your child.

“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.” – J.M. Barrie
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” – Helen Keller
As is our confidence, so is our capacity. William Hazlitt
Your desire for what you want just has to be greater than your fear of it. That’s all. Neil Strauss
Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen. Brené Brown
Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look. Marcus Aurelius
Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen. Michael Jordan
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. Anaïs Nin – yes indeed!!!
Confidence is that magic pill that makes you instantly better in everything you do. Gal Shapira

Books on raising a confident child

Raising a confident child means helping them learn how to make themselves both calm and happy and using these skills when they need them

I have written 2 books that might really help you in your attempts to raising a confident child

Create your Own Happy is packed with happiness boosting activities for kids and Create your Own Calm teaches them, through fun and relaxing activities how to be calm

and for teenagers my book Be Happy Be You will do wonders for their confidence

Over to you

Do you have any tips on how to raise a confident child that you would like to share with me? if you do please drop me a comment below I always love to hear from you. You can also check out my blog emotionally healthy kids for more articles like this one

Final words on raising a confident child

You can also hear some great shows on raising children’s self belief by following my podcast on Emotionally Healthy Kids

Create your own confidence

So what constitutes a confident child?