In this post we are going to provide you some very effective self-esteem activities for kids since building a healthy self-esteem in children is one of the most important aspects of parenting.
Self-esteem of a person is something that shapes their life because all of our actions depends upon the type of beliefs we hold about ourselves deep inside our heart, these beliefs form our self-image based on which our actions and reactions in various situations greatly depend.
Changing one’s self-image is a very difficult process because it is created by the type of experiences a person has had during his childhood but as a parent, you can help your child to build a healthy self-image since their mind is like a blank page which is waiting for a story to be written.
In our previous post named “improving self-esteem in kids” we have discussed this subject in detail, so we will provide you with some activities here that are solely focused towards building the self-esteem of children.
1 – Mirror Exercise
This exercise is something that seems a little weird but has a great impact on a person’s mind, learning to use such a method at an early age can prove out to be a great advantage for the brain development of a young kid.
All you have to do is to fix a particular time for this activity and encourage your child to do this on a regular basis, in this exercise your child will have to stand in front of the mirror and look in the eyes of their mirror reflection while repeating positive statements that help them to strengthen their self-beliefs in the areas where they think they are lagging behind.
For example, if your child is having a negative belief that they are not liked by other kids of their age then they can use the statements like “I am special and people love me for who I am”. You can also make your own statements by choosing words that feels empowering to you, only keep in mind that any negation should not be present in the affirmation because our subconscious mind does not process such words so using a statement like “I am not a lazy person” will work counterproductively.
2 – Postive Self-Talk
The exercise that we have discussed above is a routine but more importantly one should be aware of the self-talk that occurs in the mind of a person during various situations and change it into a positive self-talk in order to have a healthy self-image.
For this, you should encourage your child to be attentive to the voice inside their head and tell them to use positive statements whenever they hear themselves talking negatively in their head especially during particular situations.
Unlike adults in case of kids one can easily identify the moments when the child is engaging in a negative self-talk because children often blurts out the words that are getting repeated inside their heads, this is why you can hear them saying things like “I am not good at —“, this is the moment where you should tell them to use a positive statement instead of whatever they are believing to be true.
3 – Decision Making Exercise
Building a healthy self-esteem has a lot to do with the decision-making skills of a person. A child who has a weak self-esteem needs the help of their parents in all situations for making choices. By reversing this process we can help children to form a healthy self-image which tells them that they are capable of making their own decisions.
In order to do this, you will have to give your child the opportunity to make their own choices in small situations like choosing their toys, clothes, schoolbag, etc. By doing this they will gradually gain the confidence to make decisions in their life without your help.
4 – Feeling the Emotions
Suppressing the emotions or not being in control of one’s emotions is something that leads to low self-esteem. That is why kids should be taught how to deal with their emotions at an early age. This activity should be performed whenever you see your kid feeling strong emotions.
This exercise is all about encouraging your child to feel their emotions without making judgments about it or trying to get rid of the feelings. You should focus on making your child realize that different types of emotional responses in various situations is completely normal and help them to be comfortable with all kind of emotions.
You can also make them more aware of their thoughts and feelings by asking them to describe how they are feeling and what is causing a certain type of emotional changes in them. By talking to them about their feelings you can help them to be more in control of their actions.
5 – New Skills Demonstration
For building a healthy self-esteem you should feel good about your abilities and skills. So you can help your child to admire their qualities by taking your time to watch your kid demonstrating their newly learned skills and by praising them for their efforts.
By fixing a schedule for your child to show their skills you will be able to motivate them for learning new things every day and this will also make them believe in their own abilities.
6 – Household Chores
Doing a household chore might seem like a tedious and boring task for you but children often view these tasks as something that is very exciting and important.
Allow them to participate with you in your daily household works and give them more opportunities to help you with whatever you are doing, this will make them feel important and responsible which is very essential for improving their self-esteem.
7 – Family Matters
In the above points, we have seen how giving your child some small responsibilities can help them feel special about themselves, another thing you can do to give them the importance that they deserve is to include them in the family matters.
It is obvious that you cannot discuss all the matters with your kids but you can definitely include them in the activities like deciding the monthly budget, planning a family holiday, buying household items, etc.
8 – Playing Competitive Games
The most important aspect of building a healthy self-esteem is to teach your children about how to handle failures, kids who have a low self-esteem can be seen striving for getting approval from others. It is not possible for you to be present around your child in all the situations but you can teach them to deal with failures by participating in competitive games with them.
Playing games with your kids gives you an opportunity to teach your children that winning and losing is a part of the game and one should not take it seriously, also another important lesson you can teach them is to play the game without trying to prove yourself because winning or losing does not decide their true potential and they should not worry about other people’s opinions.
So these were some activities that you can use to improve your child’s self-esteem. You can also become a certified self-esteem coach for children and help your kid with the knowledge you can gain by opting for our recommended product named “Self-Esteem Elevation for Children Coaching Certification”.
Here’s a video by Brain Tracy on how to raise self-confident children:-
Thank you so much for visiting our site, we hope you found this content useful. We would love to hear your views, suggestions, and opinions about this post, so kindly share your thoughts with us by commenting below.
For any queries, drop us a message using our contact page.