How to Raise a Confident Child

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Confidence is forged from self-belief, independence, and resilience, it motivates us to take on new challenges and helps us bounce back from failures. Confident people tend to have increased self-worth and are less critical towards themselves, which curbs the self-doubt that can get in the way of life's experiences and successes. To help your child develop their confidence take a look at the following advice from an independent school in the West Midlands.

Celebrate Effort

To help a child develop confidence it is important to take the emphasis away from winning or losing and instead try to focus their attention on the pleasure of participation. Your child isn’t going to be natural at everything they attempt and if they feel ashamed or embarrassed for getting things wrong, they will shy away from trying new things in the future. Childhood is about exploration, engaging with different hobbies and interests, and figuring out what feels right. Praise their enthusiasm as they take on new challenges and highlight the positive elements of each experience.

Stop Handholding

It’s important to let your child take on some challenges independently and to tackle certain tasks without your assistance. Self-reliance is an important element of confidence and will help your child to recognise their own competence and abilities. Consider tasks that you feel your child will be capable of carrying out themselves and hand over the reins. This could include things that will allow them to explore self-expression such as choosing their own outfit or deciding what movie they want to watch or could include self-care tasks such as brushing their own teeth or making themselves a drink when they need one.

Encourage Risk-Taking

Although it might be terrifying to watch your six-year-old dangling from the monkey bars or attempting to climb a tree, this sort of reasonable risk taking not only develops confidence but actually teaches children how to keep themselves safe. If your child shies away from challenges through fear of getting hurt this can hinder their self-esteem and willingness to try new things in the long term. A grazed knee from jumping off a swing or diving into a tackle playing football helps children to learn their limits and encourages them to pick themselves up and dust themselves off after a mishap.