10 Tips to Building Healthy Self Esteem in Kids

How to Build Self Esteem in Children

Building a healthy sense of self-esteem in kids during childhood is key to a happy life and to greater chances of a successful life as an adult. You probably already know this.

But a recent study reveals some shocking statistics about self esteem in kids that you may not be aware of.

This study shows that a whopping 75% of girls with low self-esteem “reported engaging in negative and potentially harmful activities, such as disordered eating, cutting, bullying, smoking or drinking, when feeling badly about themselves — compared with 25 percent of girls with high self-esteem.” (Real Girls, Real Pressure: A National Report on the State of Self-Esteem, June 2008)

Before I disclose some wonderful self-esteem building tips with you, I want to share some important information that’s essential to fully understanding self-esteem.

Important Information About Self-Esteem in Kids:

• First – Self-esteem fluctuates throughout our lifetime, therefore one’s sense of self esteem will not ALWAYS be high. In fact low self-esteem is a natural occurrence for everyone. The key is to monitor how long the lows last relative to the highs.
• Second – Building and improving self-esteem takes time and is not a quick fix that occurs overnight. But don’t let this discourage you!
• Third – Maintaining self-esteem requires daily attention because it’s a never-ending (and lovely) journey we all travel. This is not a burden, rather it is a wonderful gift to honor and cherish.

OK, now that you understand that building self-esteem is a process, I offer you these self-esteem building tips to help maintain and strengthen your child’s esteem.

Ten Tips to Improved Self Esteem in a Child

1. Take time to do things you enjoy.
2. Get something done that you have been putting off.
3. Do things that make use of your own special talents and abilities.
4. Dress in clothes that make you feel good about yourself.
5. Give yourself rewards.
6. Make your living space a place that honors the person you are.
7. Display items that you find attractive or that remind you of your achievements.
8. Learn something new or improve your skills.
9. Begin doing those things that you know will make you feel better about yourself. Keep them simple and easy, such as listening to your favorite song.
10. Do something nice for another person.

~ Excerpted from Building Self Esteem,  A Self-Help Guide
published by the US Dept of Health and Human Services

Just imagine how great you’ll feel when you are enjoying one of these tips  with your precious child.

More Ways to Build Healthy Self-Esteem in Children

FACT! Self-Esteem is an ongoing journey, therefore daily action is required to build and improve one’s self-esteem.

Building and improving self-esteem is a life skill that is all about self-care and that is very similar to body care. You already know that in order to keep our bodies in good shape we must take daily actions. Bathing, grooming, eating, exercising and relaxing are all example of essential body-care actions.

Thinking about improving self-esteem from this perspective, there are 2 keys to  building a strong sense self esteem in kids.

• Self Esteem Key #1:
  Building healthy self-esteem takes time and effort.
• Self Esteem Key #2
  Maintaining self-esteem requires daily attention because it is a never-ending (and lovely) journey we all travel.

Healthy self-esteem is a life skill we must teach and instill in our children.

Small Persistent Daily Action is the Key to Healthy Self Esteem in Kids

To easily teach a child the essential life skill of maintaining healthy self-esteem I suggest using small persistent actions. These are simple daily actions that overtime become habits, just as brushing one’s teeth or combing one’s hair are self-care habits we learn.

Consider this: People who do not take small persistent actions to strengthen their sense of self-esteem tend to flounder, while those who do take daily self esteem building actions tend to succeed.

Building Self-esteem Takes Commitment

Remember, improved self-esteem is a result of regular, consistent actions. So commit right now to dedicating a minimum of 10 minutes per day to self esteem self-care actions.

Slowly increase the daily self-esteem activities from 10 minutes to 20, then to 30, 45, & then 60 minutes and you’ll guarantee that your child’s self esteem will soar! You’ll also guarantee that occurrences low-self esteem will be brief.

Get started today and begin forming the healthy habit of building self-esteem one small step at a time, day-by-lovely-day!

Here’s to improved self-esteem in your child…

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Journal Buddies builds creative writing skills in boys and girls.

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