Self-Perceived Competence

Self-Esteem

Focus on victories!

Celebrating the moments when your child is being independent will help them to feel good about their abilities.  This will make them more likely to try tasks on their own in the future.

Tips for Praising Your Child

1. Make a “big deal” about all kinds of achievements, including getting ready for bed on their own, sharing with a younger sibling, and putting their plate in the sink without being asked.

2. Give a lot of sincere praise, but don’t go overboard. Find two or three things each day that your child did that is praiseworthy.

3. Be specific about why you are proud. You can say things like, “it was really thoughtful of you to help grandpa find his glasses.”

4. Praise your child for their effort instead of praising them for the outcome. For example, say, “I’m proud of how hard you worked on that math assignment” instead of focusing on the grade they got. Even if something doesn’t go as planned, note the time and hard work they put in.

Let your child soar!

Give them small fun tasks to start with and then build up to more challenging ones. As they develop their skills, think of ways to make activities slightly more difficult to help them see that they can do it! 

• To set your child up for success, set reasonable goals for them.
• If they can’t do something the first time they try, be supportive and don’t criticize. Learning to overcome moments of disappointment is an important skill for building confidence in the long run. 
• Play to their strengths! When they are having trouble completing a task, point out the parts of the task that they are doing well and help them to avoid giving up.

Encourage your child to use positive self-talk to cheer themselves on and to help them feel more confident.

• Using positive self-talk will help your child motivate themselves to face problems head-on. This builds self-esteem!