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Better Parenting |
Self Help Tips (Home) > Better Parenting > Child Self Image Learn to Enhance Your Child's Self-ImageAll over the world, parents are learning that the business of good parenting is not as easy as they thought it would be. It's such a huge responsibility, there's so much to do, so many issues to be concerned about. So many areas that raise self-doubt, whether they're doing their best by their kids. Whether to be stricter or to be more lenient, to punish or not to punish. The list of what to do and what not to do can go on and on ad infinitum. In the end, all you can really do, is your best for your kids. There is one area however, that you need to pay particular attention to. Your child is precious. You need to enhance your child's self image, make them feel good about themselves and work at building their self esteem. You must let the child know that he or she is loved and truly cherished. This is so important. A child who is constantly reassured on these counts will have a very healthy self image and will grow up into a very confident, well adjusted and able person, which is what good parenting is really all about. So then, how do you go about building your child's self image? Given below are a few things you can ensure you do for your child: Keep giving your child both verbal and emotional encouragement about how precious they are to you, how important. Let your child know that whatever their appearance or interests are, whatever they can or cannot do, they are capable in your eyes of conquering the world, should they so desire. Let them know again and again, that you love, accept and value them just the way they are - warts and all. Always encourage your child's confidence in himself or herself and help their self-esteem grow. You need to watch out however, for how you discipline your child. Encouraging your child to reach for the stars may sometimes call for a certain amount of disciplining. Ensure that you do so firmly and in a positive manner. Harsh criticism or giving them negative feedback could undo all the good work you've done with them. Discipline is a positive thing in the child's life. Setting limits, creating rules and punishments on account of broken rules, shows your child that you care about them a great deal. Makes them feel very secure in fact. It's important to note that there is a vast difference between expressing disapproval of breaking rules and misbehavior and of generally showing the child you disapprove of him or her. The first is a positive action while the latter is giving the child extremely negative feedback about him or her, which goes a long way to diminishing their self image. Odd as it may seem, many parents have a tough time accepting their child just the way he or she is. Maybe they have unreasonably high expectations that are bound to fail. As a result they view their child as a 'failure'. Awful message to send to a child. Normally this kind of behavior on the part of the parents is because they may have been fed similar negative messages when they were children themselves. They are now just meting out the same kind of treatment they received as kids. In case you find yourself indulging in such behavior, note it and check yourself. Ensure you do not do anything to damage your child's self image.
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