10 Great Things You Can Do to Improve a Child’s Self-Esteem

As a teacher, one of the most important things you can do for your students is to help them to develop a strong sense of self-esteem. A high level of self-esteem can help students to overcome many challenges and setbacks and can lead to a more successful and fulfilling life.

There are great things you can do to improve a child’s self-esteem and help them reach their potential.

It’s about making kids feel good about themselves so they can discover their potential and do better.

Through the influence of a great teacher like you, children will be able to acquire life skills that will help them boost confidence and set realistic goals.

helping a child build confidence

Photo by R.D. Smith on Unsplash

There are children in the classroom who feel too shy to participate and navigate the learning environment. Some seem to have a hard time expressing their thoughts and catching onto something.

They have the feeling of aloofness at times that they tend to just sit while listening to their peers who have gained confidence in presenting their thoughts and ideas.

The Importance of Improving a Child’s Self-Esteem

Building a child’s self-esteem is a significant part of a child’s education. And teachers play an important role in helping a child improve and bloom. In this article, I’d like to share awesome ways to help a child improve his or her self-esteem.

Every child has amazing potential that needs to be developed and uncovered. They need to be nurtured and cared for so they think positively about themselves. Children feel confident about themselves if the people around them know their worth and value their existence.

Instilling in a child the value of self-confidence should begin as early as possible. Young children should feel good about themselves and should know the importance of building self-confidence. Moreover, they should be encouraged to perform at their best at an early age so they will live by it as they grow up.

_______________

<<What does it take to boost your student’s confidence? Read our inspiring ways to motivate students to study and help them be the best that they can be.

Click Here to Learn More--->

_______________

10 Great Things You Can Do to Improve a Child’s Self-Esteem

As a teacher, you want to do everything you can to help your students feel good about themselves. A child with high self-esteem is more likely to be successful in school and in life. Here are some things you can do to help improve your students’ self-esteem:

1. Give young children a sense of belonging

giving a child a sense of belonging

Young children need to feel a sense of belonging not only in their respective homes but also in their second home – the school. Since the classroom is their immediate environment in the school, you need to build a community where students are highly valued.

One of the important aspects of the development of the child is the surrounding environment. Hence, teachers, especially preschool teachers, should give their young learners a sense of belonging. Children will become more confident if they can feel the support of those around them.

Indeed, developing a sense of belonging in your classroom is essential. Every child needs it.

Moreover, your students should be encouraged to work cooperatively with their peers so they can get along well with others and never feel secluded.

They need friends and they need to build good relationships with their peers in order to improve their self-confidence.  The more they practice it, the more they feel good for themselves and for others.

2. Recognize your child’s efforts and achievements

It is important to note that each child is unique and has an awesome package of talents and skills. As a teacher, you need to appreciate their efforts and their contributions to the different learning activities no matter how little they may be. Therefore, it always pays off by giving them equal learning opportunities.

By assigning them tasks and roles, young learners will be more motivated to perform especially if their work has been appreciated. Furthermore, recognizing and appreciating their achievements appropriately can also make a difference in their self-belief.

The consistent expectations you set for them will serve as their guide and encouragement. Hence, you should set high expectations for all your students and explain to them their importance so they will know what to do and how to do things in the classroom.

Young learners will show competence if they know exactly what is expected of them in the classroom. They will be more encouraged to contribute their efforts and do their best if they feel that you like them and that you are recognizing their efforts.

“You are doing great!” “Good job, well done! are simple words of recognizing one’s efforts and yet have a great impact on the child’s self-esteem.

3. Encourage and motivate a child sincerely

motivating students

When you enforce encouragement and motivation in the classroom, make sure you do it sincerely. Your students can feel your sincerity if your teaching strategies are most fitting to their learning needs. It should be part of your daily plans.

Think of motivational techniques that will help your young students exhibit their skills and creativity.

There are many things you can do to motivate young children. Aside from showing them colorful educational toys as a way of encouraging them to participate and get interested, it’s best if you nurture them emotionally. Help them feel good about themselves by saying words of encouragement and by developing a strong belief that your students are capable of achieving great things in life.

4. Teach a child about hard work

“You should work hard and pursue your dreams”. “You can’t get things easily.” I often say these to my students.

Teaching students the value of hard work will help them strive hard and show confidence. By emphasizing that their success is seen in their efforts, they will love to do more.

Moreover, young children should be aware of the results of laziness and disinterest.

Mahatma Gandhi once shared, “Our reward is in the effort and not in the result. A complete effort is a complete victory.” Hence, we must cultivate in our students the value of working hard and that things can’t be achieved all in one moment.

Therefore, you should follow up on your students’ activities and know where they are. Similarly, it takes work but it should be done.

The more students know that you are supervising their work closely, the more they feel your hard work and they will strive hard to finish their outputs too.

Displaying their finished work on the classroom bulletin board is also a great reminder for all students that they should exert effort, work hard, and finish their tasks. Even though their outputs form part of their performance, it’s always a good thing if we look into their ways of doing things. It’s more fulfilling and rewarding to note to see students working hard.

5. Model good behavior and confidence

Your great enthusiasm to teach is contagious. The way you present the lesson and the way you prepare the classroom spells out your good behavior and confidence as a teacher.

Hence, you should love your job in order to model what’s right for your students. Always venture out to see what should be best for your young learners.

If your students have pleasant learning experiences with you, they will follow your good behavior and stay committed to studying hard.  Essentially, through your effort as their teacher, they will develop a strong and healthy sense of themselves.

The more you show confidence when you teach, the more you inspire your learners. If they see that you are very eager to teach them, your students will also strive harder to master life skills. The bottom line is, never to teach unprepared because this will make you appear lousy and dull.

6. Make kids feel loved and accepted

Self-esteem in children essentially develops when they feel they are valued. It boosts their confidence when they are cared for and accepted.

If you don’t give them a chance to enjoy such feelings, kids easily feel alienated and lose track of themselves, especially on what they can do.

The loving care you’ve shown can have a positive impact on how they think about themselves. Hence, they tend to perform better because they are greatly inspired when they feel your love and acceptance.

Give them opportunities to flourish by letting them try doing things without aiming for perfection. Just let them do it and appreciate what they do. It can make them smile.

And when kids can do things or have made accomplishments, always let them feel you are happy for them and notice how their self-esteem grows.

7. Encourage ‘can-do’ attitudes

Children will feel good about themselves if they have done something that makes you appreciate them. Through your encouragement, knowing that you are their second parent, children will feel more confident about what they do.

Simple thoughts like, “Yes, you can do it!”, I believe in you dear”, “Why not give it a try?”, and “I love seeing you do that” are just some encouraging remarks that help build a child’s confidence.

When children feel good about themselves, it will be easier for you to motivate them so they discover their potential and enhance their skills. Instill the ‘can-do’ attitude by showing that you support them in every way.

8. Give positive feedback frequently

Children should hear positive comments about themselves. We can’t deny the essential role of feedback in student learning. Giving constructive criticism or feedback can help foster a child’s self-confidence.

More likely, when children receive acknowledgments and positive reactions to what they do, they are more encouraged to participate in the different learning activities.

Positive and encouraging feedback in learning will not only help children cope with challenging tasks but also help them realize mistakes and accept disappointments. Most importantly, children realize how unique they are and will learn how to set their own goals.

However, it should be noted that giving negative and unproductive reactions will lead to low self-esteem; thus it should be avoided. Otherwise, children will feel inferior and be afraid to try.

9. Help them set goals.

Helping your students set goals can be a great way to boost their self-esteem. Encourage them to set realistic goals that are challenging but achievable.

As a teacher, one of your most important jobs is to help your students set and achieve their academic goals.

Help your students identify their strengths and weaknesses. This can be done through assessments, quizzes, or simply by having a conversation with your students. Once they know what they’re good at and where they need improvement, they can start to create specific goals around those areas.

Also, help your students stay accountable. One way to do this is by setting deadlines for goal attainment and tracking progress along the way. You can also encourage your students to share their goals with friends or family members so that they have someone who will hold them accountable as well.

10. Teach them how to cope with failure.

It’s inevitable that your students will experience setbacks and failures along the way, but it’s important to teach them how to cope with these experiences in a healthy way. Teach them how to accept responsibility.

As a teacher, it is important to help your students learn how to cope with failure. Failure is a part of life, and it is important for students to learn how to handle it in a healthy way. Help them understand that everyone makes mistakes and that it is important to learn from them.

Teach your students how to take feedback constructively. Feedback can help students learn from their mistakes and improve their work.

Another important way is encouraging your students to persist in the face of failure. It can be tough to keep going after you’ve failed, but it’s important to remember that success is possible if you keep trying.

Conclusion

Students should feel good about themselves. And you can do great things to help your learners develop a sense of self-belief and trust in their abilities.

You have a major influence on their lives just like their parents. So, you have to take that grand opportunity of helping them improve their self-esteem.

Young learners have many skills and they are very eager to explore if we will just allow them.  They should be given the best chance to shine and prove their worth.

What else can you add to tune in to ways that can help improve a child’s self-esteem? Shed your amazing ideas below!