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Developing your child's self-esteem

Developing your child's self-esteem Contd.

Creating a happy home - Loomans further elaborated on how we can share with our children what a happy home is like and acting on those ideas more often. These include cooking together, celebrating art created by the child and parent, expressing affection, playing games together, enjoying a pet, dancing an playing music together and many more. It's interesting what idea children can contribute to making a list of how you can create happy home.
Love notes - Leave fun or encouraging notes for loved ones in different shapes, colours and sizes in unexpected places. Write short love notes to your children to say how special they are. Simply telling them that they are appreciated can be music to their ears.
The gift of acknowledgement - My eight-year-old daughter, Hilary, thrives on every acknowledgement and comment I make which expresses my appreciation for her uniqueness. It could be something as simple as telling her that she is a good big sister because ... or that she cleans the table so well. That really makes her day!

Esteem each night - Bedtime can be a golden opportunity to sow seeds of self-esteem'. From mini-massages to storytelling or simply recalling events that happened that day can help children draw closer to adults.
Homework applause - This is something both teachers and parents can join in to applaud our children's learning process by giving recognition and acknowledgement to all completed homework assignments and projects. For a child, receiving applause and recognition at the end of the day for the work that she did in school or at home is an effective and important contribution to building self-esteem.
The story of you - Ever wondered what else you could do with all die lovely photographs of your children when they were a baby and toddler? Why not document the story of your child by writing a short narrative of your experience as expectant parents and an in-depth story of her birth? This is one story my daughter never fails to want me to repeat over and over again. By chronicling the story of your child's life and your own will give your child the gift of self-reflection and an appreciation for the continuity of life. A scrapbook can be easily compiled to include special cards, photos, your child's artwork and early scribbling/writing over the years to commemorate the various cycles in your child's life.
Esteem hobbies - Ever thought of developing a hobby with your child? Whether it's bird-watching, collecting shells, wind¬surfing, cycling ... it's one great way of spending fun time together with your child. Make a visit to a local art or hobby shop and start with something easy, like glass painting using scrap jam jars and bottles, gardening or making T-shirt designs.
Holiday fun - Keep a lookout for holiday events to attend, be it at the children's discovery museum, the theatre, taking a river-boat ride or going fishing at the jetty. Don't forget the camera too. With the photos taken, you can even go on to make a scrapbook on What we did during the June holidays. None of us claim to be the perfect parent or teacher. Whether we want to be a positive influence on our children's development of a sense of self is entirely up to us to decide. Often, this only takes some careful reflection a little time each day and a whole lot of openness to admit that we are not perfect. We can change our perceptions about affirming our children in little ways which can go a long way in determining their future.
To help children grow strong, we must let go of images that donot fit the uniqueness of the child.

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