Confidence is a hard skill to master at any age. As adults it’s easy for us to reflect and wish we could show the younger version of ourselves how to master the confidence we have now. While we can’t go back in time and teach ourselves how to conquer confidence, we can be a role model for our kids.
As a child counselor it is our job to enable our clients with the skills to become their best selves and live with confidence! Here are six tips to help you raise your child, adolescent, or teen with confidence and equip them for a future with the sun in their eyes!
Be An Example
It is an easy mistake to assume that all adults have confidence. You may assume that because they’ve grown up and experienced many more seasons of life they have learned to weather the storm and master the art of being entirely confident. That is not always the case! Adults, like children, are still very much capable of struggling with confidence. However, if you want your child to feel confident in themselves, you need to model it through yourself as a parent!
Fake it till you make it! On the days where you don’t feel confident in yourself, your parenting, work, etc throw on a smile and practice optimism. In your child’s adolescent years, you act as their teacher, mentor, and friend. One of the best ways to teach your teen or early teen confidence is by modeling this confidence yourself.
Forgiveness Is A Gift
Everyone is prone to make mistakes, and kids and pre-teens are no excpetion from this universal truth. When your child or teen makes a mistake or blunder, instead of getting upset with them, teach them patience and forgiveness. By instilling in them that mistakes happen, and that everyone messes up at times will allow them to navigate these mistakes as learning lessons. This will also set an example for confidence because confident people don’t back down when something gets hardaaa , they get back up!
Be Their Biggest Cheerleader
The preteen and early teen years are perhaps the most difficult phases we go through. This span of around 9-14 comes with awkward physical changes, uncomfortable emotional changes, and so much more. So when your child is feeling uncomfortable or unsure about themselves and their environment, cheer them on! Teach them to try new things, to be open to new ideas, and to get out and take the teenage world by storm! After all, nothing great was ever accomplished from staying inside the house all day,
Accept Failure
Nothing dents the confidence more than trying and not succeeding. Failure is an uncomfortable part of life at any age. When your child or teen fails (or feels as if they have) focus on the good. Use failure as an opportunity to change your mindset and attitude. Teaching kids that failure is a natural part of life will set them up not only for their teen years but for all of the years to follow.
Hard Work Pays Off
Being good at everything doesn’t lead to confidence. When your child or preteen feels like they aren’t good at anything whether it be sports at school, making friends, or socially related, teach them the value of hard work. Life will come with setbacks at every age, and when your child can learn that confidence comes with hard work, dedication , and perseverance they will be set up for success.
Put Passion In The Purpose
Enabling kids and teens to explore their own interests will allow them to develop their own identity. They will identify their likes and dislikes as an individual which will allow their confidence in themselves to grow as they continue to learn more and more about who they are.
Allow your child or teen to explore their passion and enable them to explore any new opportunity. Set goals for your child or teen so that even the smallest victories feel like victories. By setting goals your child/teen will learn that their dreams and aspirations can be validated with some hard work!
At Audacious Therapy we believe in empowering our clients to overcome hurdles and live with more confidence. As a Denver based child therapy program, we work with children and adolescents to help them find their way towards becoming their best self. Through a number of counseling methods, we have a passion in child counseling and helping our clients master confidence. To request an appointment you can book online or give us a call!