What does self-esteem mean?
Self-esteem is a way in which a child values himself or herself.
What are the characteristics of children with high self-esteem?
These children:
- Make friends easily
- Show enthusiasm for new activities
- Are cooperative and follow age appropriate rules
- Are able to control their behaviour
- Play by themselves and with other children
- Are creative and have their own ideas
- Are happy, full of energy and talk to others without much encouragement
What are the characteristics of children with low self-esteem
They:
- Are unhappy
- Have poor self-confidence
- Have feeling of hopelessness
- Feel tired or fatigue most of the time
- Look on the worst side of everything
- Have no self-respect
- Perform poorly in school
What are positive factors for self-esteem?
Factors which nurture or boost self-esteem include:
- Love
- Security
- Guidance
- Acknowledgement
- Encouragement
How can you help to build high self-esteem in your child?
You should:
- Praise your child’s successes, even small ones
- Give sincere affection
- Show interest in each child’s activities, projects or problems
- Explain to child what to do and what not to do
- Try to ignore temper tantrums and other negative behaviour
- Show appreciation when your child cooperate, help you, say kind things to other children
- Respond affectionately when your child behave well
- When a child misbehaves, separate the misbehaviour from the child, e.g. say “I don’t like it when you throw toys, but I still like you.”
There are also actions that may lower children’s self-esteem
They include :
- Expecting too much or too little from children
- Yelling or criticizing children, especially in front of other people
- Calling children clumsy, stupid, lazy etc.
- Overprotecting or neglecting children
Last Reviewed | : | 10 May 2024 |
Writer | : | Dr. Baizury binti Bashah |
Reviewer | : | Aina Mazwin binti Mohamed Radzi |