From the moment your child is born, you probably have many hopes and dreams for their happy future. These hopes and dreams have a great chance of coming true if your little one grows up with confidence and self-esteem. As a parent, it’s part of your job to help instill these traits in your child. The following are 10 ways that you can build your child’s confidence & self-esteem:

1. Listen to Your Child

Starting at birth, listen to your child and show that you’re interested in what your little one has to stay, even if it’s just sounds at first.

2. Make Eye Contact

When your child is speaking, or when you’re talking to your child, make eye contact. This helps your child know that you value the connection the two of you are having and that you want it to be genuine.

3. Let Your Child Dream

Whether your child is talking to you about becoming the president or an NBA player, listen to these dreams and acknowledge that they may be possible given hard work and the right circumstances.

4. Allow Your Child to Struggle

Part of becoming confident is overcoming challenges, so allow your child to struggle sometimes. It takes a lot of observing and a bit of intuition to know when it’s appropriate to step in and help a child. Sometimes, stepping in to assist comes when a child asks, and other times it should be done even when a child doesn’t.

5. Let Separation Happen

Build your child’s confidence & self-esteem by letting separation happen between your little one and you. Parents often have an intense desire to hang on to their babies and children, and to offer protection at every moment in their lives. However, kids need to be allowed to fly a little free and to develop the strength to do things on their own.

6. Encourage Passions

If you see or get a sense that your child is interested in something, encourage the pursuit of that passion. It doesn’t matter the age. You can support interest in art, athleticism, music, acting, and many other ways of expression.

7. Place Value on Freedom of Expression

Confidence and self-esteem is built when children understand that they can express who they are, whether that means dressing how they like or wearing their hair how they want. Our kids are unique individuals who should be guided by us, not molded to fit some vision we have in our heads.

8. Communicate to Teach

If you want your children to develop confidence and self-esteem, communicate with them in a way that teaches them about life, not enforces an authority-subject relationship. Our goal as parents is not to demand conformity, but to instruct (as a wise sage would) while our children are with us.

9. Show Respect

Children who are offered respect by their parents grow up with confidence and self-esteem. Respect when it comes to our children means seeing that they are worthy of kind words and tone of voice, that they need our firm but gentle guidance at times, and that we are no better than they are.

10. Model Good Choices

Children who learn how to make good choices in life grow up to be confident and to have self-esteem. We, as parents, need to model ways to make good lifestyle choices which include choices related to healthy eating, keeping a positive mindset, and surrounding ourselves with a healthy environment.

Build Your Child’s Confidence & Self-Esteem Every Day, In Every Way 

Confidence & self-esteem are traits that come about by consistent behaviors, practices, and choices. Parents should take care to approach the ideals of confidence & self-esteem every day, in every action taken as a family. This includes modeling healthy lifestyle choices like opting for natural hygiene products. It’s Baby Mantra’s goal to help you with this, and we do so by offering you a range of healthy baby skin care products including organic baby skin care products, EWG baby lotions, and the best natural diaper rash cream you’ll find.