Building a childs self-esteem

Self-esteem is defined in the text as “a personal judgment of worthiness that is expressed in the attitudes the individual holds toward himself.” Children need to feel valued and loved. They need to have the confidence that they can handle most things that they encounter and they need to feel that they deserve to be happy about their achievements. Healthy self-esteem comes when there is a balance of the child feeling loved, valued, and feeling happy about their accomplishments. A child’s self-esteem can be built by being the child’s biggest cheerleader; by supporting them as they try and fail and try again and succeed. This builds confidence within them; and they learn to trust others and to form healthy relationships; they need to hear stories of failures and successes from adults so that they can relate and understand that it is normal and healthy to sometimes fail, but the important thing is to be persistent and never give up. Praise is like giving a child a “verbal trophy.” It is best used in praising the child for the effort and not the accomplishment. Praising only the accomplishment can lead to a low self-esteem if it takes some time to achieve the task or goal the child has before them. If we only praise the accomplishment they may never hear the words of praise they seek. Children need to hear praise in order to believe they are loved and important and worthwhile. With children that I may work with, I can be very observant of their behaviors, efforts and achievements, and listen when they want to share feelings and emotions. I can help them feel cared for and that they are important to someone. Children need to feel competent and confident that they can learn to control behaviors. I can praise them when they are able to control things that may be hard for them, such as being quiet for the teacher or not hitting a child back that hit them. When a child feels they are loved and of value, they will have a healthier self-esteem. Positive, genuine praise will support the feelings of love and value. - FCHD 3520 Student