As parents, we always want the best for our children and one of the ways we can help them achieve their full potential is by making sure they grow up to be confident and feel good about themselves. When we feel positive about ourselves, we’re more able to meet our goals, to challenge ourselves, and feel much happier. The same applies to our kids!
Families Online have shared some great tips on how to help boost your child’s self esteem and make them feel good about themselves. Do check out their advice, as their tips are all practical steps that you can easily implement in your day to day life.
Today I’m sharing some ideas about how to help encourage children’s positive thinking and positive body image too.
Confidence Building Activities for Kids
Here are a few simple ideas for confidence building activities for kids:
Talk about what makes them special
Each of us is different, and while sometimes our differences can make us feel singled out, I’m trying to build up positive thinking in my kids where they appreciate their differences and know that all of the things that make them unique make them special in their own way.
My youngest boy has glasses, and I was really pleased to see when he got them that these days kids are much more accepting and he was happy to get his glasses and wear them in school, whereas when I was in school children used to be picked on a lot more for little things like this. Now he needs to start wearing an eye patch in school too (the reason for his glasses is because he has one lazy eye) so I’m hoping that he will have the self confidence to feel comfortable with his patch too, even though it may make him stand out.
One of my boys also has curly hair and went through a stage when he was in reception class where he didn’t like it as most of the other boys in school had straight hair. One simple activity that his teacher did was getting each child in the class to say something that makes them special and unique, so my son chose to say that he’s special because he has curly hair, and hearing everybody pick something that makes each of them different and special, he soon started to feel better.
Build each other up
Confidence and positive thinking comes from within, but it’s much easier to build it up if the example is being shown around you too. An easy way to do this is in how you talk about other people (and yourself), as kids will follow that example and apply it to others and to themselves too.
If kids hear you complaining about your own appearance or body, then they soon mirror that and over time can develop issues with body image as they start to pick up these concerns. I don’t like to hear my kids talking about “fat” so I try to frame discussions about being healthy, rather than just focusing on appearances.
Encourage siblings to build each other up using positive language rather than making fun of each other, and to encourage the younger ones – for example when racing each other my oldest boy would typically win quite easily as he’s bigger so I would try to encourage him to still build up the others and congratulate them on getting faster. This doesn’t always come naturally when you have a bit of sibling rivalry, but I do think it makes a difference!
One activity we did at school was passing around a notebook for each child, and everyone had to write one positive comment about each other in their books. Later everyone would have a full book of comments to look back on when they needed a boost!
Focus on building strong healthy bodies
As I mentioned, we try to emphasise health over appearance or “fat and thin” and I also encourage my kids to take part in sports to help them maintain strong healthy bodies that they can feel proud of. I want them to appreciate what their bodies can help them to achieve like running or swimming, as well as feeling grateful for all of their healthy working organs like their heart and lungs.
A simple activity to focus on this and feel positive about their bodies, would be to get the kids to lie on the floor and draw around themselves on large pieces of paper (or in the summer you can do it outside with chalk) and then they can label up all of the body parts and think about how each one helps them.
Ask them what they love about themselves
Families Online challenged us to ask the kids, and make a short video of their responses. Here’s what they had to say!
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
it is really important