It’s extremely important to build and nurture self-confidence in your child. A child with self-confidence is sure to live with happiness in the different aspects of life. This characteristic serves as the foundation of your child’s well-being. It’s an important factor which will determine your child’s success when he/she grows up. No matter what your child age is, his feelings about himself affect how he will act in different situations.
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When your child takes a look in the mirror and doesn’t like what he/she sees, then you need to help out. It doesn’t take material things such as fancy clothes or ride-on toys to build self-confidence. It takes patience, effort, and a whole lot of love. Involving the whole family will help too. Here are some great family activities to help build self confidence:
Have Family Playtime Activities
Play is very important for children as it allows for fun and learning. When you play together as a family, you learn a lot about each other. More importantly, you learn a lot about your child. Setting aside some time to play with your child gives him/her a positive and uplifting message. It shows your child that he/she is valuable and you love spending time together. Children learn a lot through play. When you play together as a family, it enhances the good behavior in your child. It makes him/her feel important and accomplished.
Make a puppet theater and put on shows
Here’s a fun and simple way you can bond with your child as a family. Take a simple cardboard box and transform it into your own home puppet theater. Hand or finger puppet shows are always a lot of fun.
You can even make it more interesting by making a shadow puppet show. Either way, this is a great activity for the whole family. Put on shows with your child or even ask your child to do the puppet shows himself/herself. This is a great way to encourage self-confidence.
Teach your child to make friendship bracelets
This is another great activity you can do as a family. Learn how to make friendship bracelets and teach your child how to make them too. This activity allows for some quiet time together. It also helps develop his/her fine motor skills. While making these bracelets, teach your child the value of friendship and love. Your child can even share the friendship bracelets with his/her friends. This is a great way to apply what he/she learned about friendship. It also builds self-confidence in the process.
Share your child’s interests
If you notice that your child has a specific interest, think of family activities you can do to build on that. When you share your child’s interests with the whole family, it will definitely encourage him/her to be more confident.
If your child loves animals, then go on a trip to the zoo. If your child loves cars, try building a car out of recycled materials. When you share your child’s interests, the possibilities are endless and the benefits are great.
Make a family scrapbook
Any type of family can make a family scrapbook. You don’t have to make such a project in one go as this might take too much time. Instead, you can work on the project together after you have a family activity. Collect pictures, souvenirs, and other fun stuff to stick into the scrapbook during your activities. Then, take some time to add everything into the book together. This activity encourages the importance of family and love.
Make worry dolls together
This is a lovely Guatemalan custom you can do with your family. Make the worry dolls any way you want to, using any materials. It’s a fun and meaningful craft project. When you’re done, you can explain the significance of the dolls. At the end of the day, ask your child to whisper his/her worries to the little doll. The doll then takes away all the stresses, giving your child peace as he/she sleeps. This works best with younger children and they don’t have to hang on to the dolls for too long. When your child is feeling more confident, then you can take it away.
Teach social skills creatively
At one point or another, your child needs to learn the proper social etiquette. These may include making eye contact, smiling, responding politely, and other such gestures. To teach these to your child, you can make a game out of it and involve the whole family. Don’t be too serious about the whole process, make it fun and engaging. And when all is said and done, you can sit down together and talk about the importance of these social skills.
Do household chores as a family
It’s important for children to do chores. When you assign chores to your child, it will make him/her feel responsible and grown-up. To make it fun, join your child in doing the chores. This way, your child won’t feel like you’re just assigning tasks that you don’t want to do. Do the chores together as a family and make this part of your routine. It’s another self-confidence builder that teaches a lot more.
Jim Stevens is the co-founder of Toys Advisors blog. He has two kids, a naughty boy and a very cute baby girl. “I always want to make them happy, and I love to share my experience about parenting.”
