Confident children are more likely to succeed in school and achieve their personal goals. Unfortunately, fear is one of the biggest enemies of confidence. Children who lack confidence may be hesitant to try new things because they are afraid of failing or disappointing themselves or others.
While it is a good learning school for children to fail, continuous failure can have an adverse effect on a child’s development.
To build resilience, children have to be supported when they’re trying new things. To thrive, they need to trust their own capabilities while also knowing that they can handle failures. It is through coping with failures and experiencing successes that they develop strong self-confidence.
Children who lack confidence may be hesitant to try new things because they are afraid of failing or disappointing themselves or others. As parents, it is your job to support and encourage your child as much as possible when they attempt to try new or challenging tasks. So, what can you do to raise a confident child?
Tips to support and raise a confident child
- Support and encourage curiosity
Curiosity is an important part of children’s development. When they ask questions, they increase their knowledge about a specific task, subject or object which, in turn, improves confidence.
- Encourage new challenges
Your child may be hesitant to try new things, but it is important to support them in giving any age-appropriate tasks a go. Things like riding a bike, swimming or even playing an instrument may seem scary at first, but with your encouragement, they may feel more assured in tackling these activities.
- Encourage practice
As the old saying goes, “practice makes perfect”. Without putting too much pressure on your child, you should encourage them to practice whatever it is they’re interested in.
- Acknowledge their efforts
It is important to acknowledge any effort put into a new or challenging task. Whether your child wins or loses, appreciate every step in the journey.
- Don’t criticise mistakes
You have to offer useful feedback and make suggestions, but you should never criticise efforts. This will quickly discourage your child and can even create more fear around trying new things.
- Handle mistakes as an opportunity to learn
Everyone makes mistakes. From a young age, children need to learn that mistakes can be opportunities to learn and grow. Therefore, it is essential to let your child know that it is normal to make mistakes and to treat it as an opportunity to learn.
- Offer your support
Nothing builds confidence quite like a strong support system. Be there for your child as they try new things, celebrate in their excitement, and be there to encourage them through any mistakes.
Build resilience through support
Kids learn new skills at an incredible rate. But they also require the confidence to use these skills. Remember, it is perfectly normal for your child to get frustrated and to feel disappointed. But your support and understanding will help them deal with failures better. With your encouragement, they will be ready to try again in no time.