The Psychology of a Confident Child

Raising a confident child is key to ensuring a successful transition into adulthood. Enhancing a child’s self confidence is undoubtedly tantamount to creating healthy, stable adults. The experiences and lessons of childhood stay with us into adulthood. A confident child who is valued will feel valued throughout life. A child who feels bad and incompetent will continue to live with those feelings as an adult.

To boost a child’s confidence, it is important that they receive constant positive feedback. A few simple words such as, “That’s a lovely drawing” go far in raising self esteem. A child hearing positive reinforcement will keep trying harder. A confident child who doesn’t receive positive feedback will soon wonder if it can do anything right and if any effort is really worth it.

Children thrive on encouragement. The world is filled with so many things that to a child seem impossible to accomplish or understand. Encouraging a youngster leads to the realization that he or she can do things and solve problems. Such a realization is a tremendous confidence-enhancer.

Confident children are permitted to stretch their limits. If a parent rigidly chooses what a child wears every day, the child will reach the conclusion that it is incapable of making such a decision. A child that is allowed to make some of its own choices learns that it can be in control of its life. With a growing sense of control the child learns to rely on itself rather than an adult world.

Mistakes are a part of life. Children who are taught to be ashamed of their mistakes will stop trying. Everyone makes mistakes. What’s important to a child’s psychology is to never give up. Such a child will soon be driven by the need to “keep doing” rather than the need to “not fail.” A desire not to fail leads to not trying. A child who is afraid to try will never know its true potential.

The world can sometimes be an unpleasant place, and parents rightfully want to protect their children. Yet over-zealous parents sometimes believe that shielding an offspring from anything disagreeable will result in a happy, contented child. That is not the case. As a fact of life, adults must face unpleasantness in many forms, from a nasty boss to a rude neighbor. Learning to deal with such frustrations is an important builder of self-confidence. Children who get everything they demand never learn to handle normal levels of frustrations.

They learn that a temper tantrum will bring about the desired results. When those children grow up, they continue to act as if nothing should thwart their every desire. These adults function with a child-like coping mechanism. It is important for children to experience a certain amount of frustration in order to learn how to deal with it. Not everyone will like them. They will not succeed at everything.

Sometimes life is unfair. A child who understands these facts and uses them as an opportunity to learn and grow faces life with an abundance of self-esteem. Such children develop confidence in their ability to cope with life’s adversities instead of becoming one of life’s victims.

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