Building your child’s confidence at home
Not all children are born equipped with the boundless confidence and resolute self-esteem required to cope with life’s inevitable challenges. While these levels of confidence will undeniably waver throughout our children’s development, as parents, it is important to recognise when our child is lacking in their abilities and what we can do to help.
Code Ninjas, the kids coding experts, instil confidence, logic, resourcefulness and problem-solving skills in children – all of which will serve them for the rest of their lives. Here, Grant Smith, their VP of Education, shares some activities parents can try with their kids at home. Simple but effective and suitable for infants to juniors, these activities help build confidence and self-esteem.
1. Set some goals
Setting goals, big and small, will provide your little one with something to work towards. By achieving them, kids will feel solid and confident in their abilities. But if they are unable to achieve them this time, breaking down these goals into realistic benchmarks will give children something to strive for and improve and build the resilience they will need in everyday life. Unrealistic goals can cause your child to feel demotivated, so ensure these targets are attainable. Often the most challenging part is just getting started, so helping set an easy, fun goal as the first task helps kicks things off.
To thrive, infants need to trust in their capabilities while, at the same time, knowing that they can handle it if they are not successful at something. By rebounding from failure, they develop healthy self-confidence.
2. Let them take the lead
As a parent, taking part in a game or getting involved in arts and crafts with your child and letting them lead will enable them to feel valued and think creatively. Our tiny tots enjoy learning much more when we take equal interest and participate in the process. Putting them in charge can make them feel confident and empowered, boosting their metacognitive skills. Giving them the opportunity to make their own decisions can build strong self-esteem and good judgement.
Of course, as parents, we should ensure our children know the limits of their decisions. However, allowing them to decide the rules of a game or choosing which colour paints to use for your arts and crafts activity is a great starting point for building self-awareness and self-assurance.
3. Assign tasks
By assigning age-appropriate responsibilities around the house, such as making the bed, picking up toys or feeding their furry friends, your child will feel valued by making significant contributions. After your child completes a task like helping to set the table, they can make the connection that they played a key role in the family’s dinnertime.
It can be difficult as parents to resist the urge to redo their work if it isn't quite up to your standard. Instead, help your child learn the important message that they are a significant and contributing member of the family. Praise can go a long way in instilling confidence in your child, so remember to reward them for a job well done!
4. Encourage them to try new things
Children who lack confidence often shy away from trying new things or taking on new challenges. Introducing a new game or activity or even suggesting a new hobby to take part in at home and encouraging them to get involved will help them feel more capable of trying new activities and developing new skills in the outside world.
It is always beneficial for your child to diversify, and building their confidence by introducing activities that are just outside of their comfort zone will give them the belief that they can tackle anything that comes their way. Trying new things can be daunting at first, so always be supportive and acknowledge your child’s feelings as they discover new things.
5. Practice yoga
Believe it or not, yoga is not just for adults! Yoga is an excellent physical outlet for our little ones to express themselves and help manage any anxieties. Practising yoga allows children to develop self-awareness and mindfulness whilst doing wonders for their self-esteem.
Developing this skill and reaching goals like perfecting a pose or improving their balance can provide your child with a sense of accomplishment and empowerment.
6. Take on STEM challenges
STEM-based activities can teach your child way more than science and mathematics concepts. STEM activities that encourage your child to make mistakes, learn from them and try again can help boost resilience and their ability to overcome setbacks.
Whether building a boat that can float or creating a bridge that can hold weight from recyclable materials at home, starting activities like these from an early age stimulates curiosity and develops a variety of future-proof skillsets such as problem-solving, creativity and patience. As parents, working on these challenges with your child together can be an excellent opportunity to bond and develop teamwork skills by working together to achieve a goal.
At Code Ninjas, we offer junior programmes targeted at five- to seven-year-olds that allow children to express their creativity and imagination in a safe and freeing environment while developing soft skills such as teamwork, confidence and communication.
Raising confident and happy children may sound like a tricky task. But these activities can go far in helping kids develop self-esteem, and live happy and confident lives.
If you think your five- to seven-year-old would be interested in the world of coding, visit https://www.codeninjas.com/locations-list/gb to find the location nearest to you.