Tips to Raise a Confident Child: Every parent wants the best for their children. They consider it their duty to protect them from every difficulty, keep them happy and make their path easy. But many times this ‘excessive care’ makes children dependent on them, due to which they become afraid of taking decisions themselves.
In today’s fast-paced world, it is very important to teach children the qualities of facing challenges, learning from mistakes and becoming self-reliant. Dr. Chandni Tugnait, psychiatrist and founding director of Gateway of Healing, says that real parenting does not just mean facilitating but also developing self-confidence, responsibility and emotional strength so that they can face every situation in life on their own.
To make children strong and self-reliant, parents should immediately give up some of their habits.
Provide your own solution to every problem, give them a chance to think- When children are in trouble, instead of offering immediate solutions, ask them, ‘How do you think this could be solved?’ This will increase both their decision making ability and self-confidence.
Protecting all the time, let them experience- It is natural to protect children from every injury, mistake or failure, but this does not allow them to learn the truth of life. Sometimes letting them fall, losing and getting back up makes them stronger.
Learn to trust and take decisions in their place. Parents often take decisions related to school, career or friends as per their own discretion. But it is important to let children make their own choices, so that they learn to take responsibility for their choices.
It is wrong to scold for every mistake, make the mistake an opportunity to learn. Mistakes are an important part of every child’s learning process. Instead of scolding or scaring the child for making a mistake, talk to him calmly, ‘What did you learn from this?’ This method teaches them the habit of thinking, understanding and accepting their responsibility.
Comparing with others hurts self-esteem- Sentences like ‘Look, he is better than you’ break the self-confidence of children. Every child’s journey is different. Appreciating their efforts only inspires them to become better.
The real love of parents is not in protecting their children from every mistake, but in teaching them how to recover from falling. When you trust your child, he learns to take responsibility for his decisions. Show them the way, but let them reach their destination themselves. This is the truest education of independence, confidence and emotional strength. Children blossom when parents believe in their flight, not hold their wings.