Search Results for: blog building self esteem in your children

Praise And Your Toddler

It’s tough work, being a parent. It seems like every other day, I read something that lets me know that I am doing something incorrectly as far as how I have been parenting my little boy. That’s okay, though, I am open to new ideas and to learning which things make sense for me and my family and which ideas are best left to other people and their own families. Today, I read some interesting information about how praising children can do them more harm than good. Until about an hour ago, I was generously doling out praise to Dylan … Continue reading →

Self-Esteem Uplift

Most people feel very low and unworthy after a break-up with their partner. If you have been left for another this is especially more painful. It is common to go through feelings of feeling depressed, unloved, unattractive, and unworthy. Feelings of being ugly, uninteresting, too fat, too skinny, not smart enough, and so on go through your brain. “He must have left me because there is something wrong with me” run through most people’s minds. To help you get through this difficult time there are some things that you can do to make yourself feel better. They are not cure-alls, … Continue reading →

Encouraging Children to Insist upon Respect

Respect can be a big issue in families. In fact, it can be a big issue for many of us in various aspects of our lives—at work, with our extended families and friends, or even with strangers that we might come in contact with. We all want to be respected, and we may ‘demand respect’ from our children for our authority as parents, but are we actually teaching our children what to expect in terms of respect for themselves? Sometimes, I think that respect can be one of the more confusing aspect of family life. As parents, we demand respect, … Continue reading →

Let Your Child Figure Out How to Fix It

We parents seem to be biologically programmed to swoop in at the first sign of trouble and rescue our children. After all, we want to keep them safe and teach and guide them and we worry about what will happen if we are not there to make everything right. There is much to be learned for a child, however, in having to try to fix its own problems and mistakes. Instead of immediately telling or showing your child what to do when he or she has created a problem or is faced with a challenge—let the child figure out how … Continue reading →

Praise Children for Things They Have Control Over

We know as parents that praise and encouragement are important. In fact, most of us have learned the lessons of building our child’s self-esteem through those positive, encouraging words. What might be a bit confusing, however, is how WHAT we praise can really make a difference in how our children benefit from those words of praise. Praising effort is more encouraging for a child than to praise the outcome. When you encourage a child for working hard, trying, and being persistent—you are encouraging them in the process and not focusing on whether they win, lose, or what the outcome is. … Continue reading →

Children Who Can’t Trust

When an infant has a need (such as the need for nourishment) which is not met, there is a big emotional response. That’s because the stakes are so great. If the child isn’t nourished, he will die. So he makes his needs known rather dramatically, crying and thrashing about. If this emotional response eventually brings him the sustenance he needs, he begins learning to trust. He discovers that when he is vulnerable, someone in his life will respond lovingly. As the child grows and develops, trust continues to build as the cycle repeats over and over again. For example, the … Continue reading →

Allowing Your Kids to Teach You

We share a great deal of information here in the Parents blog about how we can provide guidance and parent our children, but as I was writing the other day about playing computer games with my two eldest daughters—I realized how wonderful it is for my kids and for me when they get the opportunity to teach me something… In some ways I think that allowing our kids to teach us something real and valuable can be another way to bond—after all, where is it written that we always have to be the bosses or the ones who know everything? … Continue reading →

Help Children Get Good at Some Things

I wrestled with exactly how to title this blog and this was the best I could come up with. I want to write about how gaining skills and mastering some things is a huge benefit to a child’s developing self-esteem. A child doesn’t have to be fabulous at everything, but parents can help encourage interests and the development of skills. Getting good at and mastering skills and “things” is an important step in a child’s personal development. I am not talking about talent here, but more about how when we learn how to do things well—sometimes very ordinary things—we gain … Continue reading →

Children and Work

Since the lesson in Relief Society a few weeks ago, I have been thinking about the importance of teaching your children to work. I was fortunate enough to be raised with a strong work ethic. I find joy and contentment as I work to accomplish my goals. I have always found satisfaction in doing my best and working on something. In fact it is when I am not accomplishing something, that I feel discontentment. One of my friends and I had a conversation a few years ago about work. She also had a very high work ethic. We both felt … Continue reading →

Do Disney Princesses Hurt Self-Image in Little Girls?

Has your little girl ever dressed up like a Disney Princess? Mine has. She had a box of play clothes at age three that included outfits for Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. For her third Halloween, she dressed up in a red Belle (from Beauty in the Beast) gown and called herself the Princess Cassidy. For fourth Halloween, she dressed up in a yellow Belle dress in order to be Belle herself. She loves to play dress up, she loves to play Princess and whether that princess is Jasmine, Aurora, Cinderella, Tinker Bell or other, she loves to become … Continue reading →