Raising happy, healthy, and self-confident children is a much more difficult job than it seems.
I’ve studied this topic for many years and have even developed many programs and speeches on this very topic. I found out before I had my first child, and I have 4 children and 5 grandchildren, that there are certain ways that parents respond to and interact with their children that help ensure their success in life.
1) Ensure Your Children Have Rules
The first thing parents with happy and confident children do is ensure their children have rules. Kids want and NEED rules.
As a parent you want to establish communication, discipline, and obedience without coming across as a dictator. Whether you realize it or not, your kids want you to make the rules for them.
They expect you to care, nurture, and teach them.
Believe it or not, subconsciously kids want you to provide a set of guidelines so they will have some structure in their lives. That way they know what to expect and there is consistency. Some parents make the mistake of trying to be friends with their children or not establishing firm guidelines because they fear they will resent them for it.
This simply is not true and is crucial to give them the stability they need and crave.
2) Empower Your Children To Make Their Own Decisions
The second thing parents with happy and confident children do is empower them to make their own decisions.
When they know what the rewards and the punishments are for any given situation, your kids will build self-confidence through making their own decisions. They will be empowered to make decisions and take responsibility for their actions.
They need your guidance and direction. They need your care and your love. And you need them to listen to you and follow the “rules” so you’ll both be happy.
3) Speak To Your Kids With Positivity
The third thing parents with happy and confident children do is speak to them in a certain manner. The way you speak to your children is the single greatest factor in shaping their personalities and self-confidence.
The foundation of self-confidence is self-esteem. Self-esteem is defined as how much you like yourself or how much you respect yourself. When children are growing up, they have no self-concept, they have no idea of themselves, so they take on their whole beliefs about themselves from a young age by the way they are treated by the most important people in their lives, their mother and their father.
So if you want to have a great impact on your children, constantly feed them positive reinforcement.
Never criticize your children. Never blame your children. Never complain about your children.
Always tell them how wonderful they are. Always build them up. Always be understanding if they have problems in life. Always tell them how good they are and how smart they are.
Do this so that the most important person in their life is always laying down a psychological foundation of self-esteem that will lead to the self-confidence they will need when they grow up.
Raising well-rounded children can be tough especially in today’s hectic world…
The good news is, if you are a dedicated parent and provide them with the tools they need to succeed, you will not only ensure they will be healthy, but that they will also be happy and self-confident.
Brian Tracey
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