5 tips to build confidence in children

Did you know that one of the biggest determiners in success in later life is resilience? Many of our great psychologists are now saying that having grit and resilience is more important than being happy. 

When we think about it, this makes perfect sense. The goal of “being happy” is impossible to achieve in a life where there are so many variables outside of our control. But the ability to adapt when things don’t go your way…well, that’s one hell of a skill to take forward.

You can watch Angela Duckworths Ted talk on grit in children here. She explains it perfectly.

So how do we go about boosting self confidence, self belief and resilience?!

1.     Happy Self journal

I am a Happy Self journal convert. It’s such a lovely way to end the day. The Happy Self Journal focuses on the positives and exploring gratitude, allowing children to think about all the great things that have happened in that day as well as being a way for you to connect with them. It also allows children to note down if things hadn’t gone their way, and I found this a lovely jumping off point to discuss wider topics of relationships.

 2.     The Belief Cup

I saw this idea on the lovely Polar Post Instagram, and thought it was a wonderful idea! Buy a vintage trophy, and each day or week, gift it to the child who has achieved something amazing, overcome a problem or been super kind. Make up your own rules and each night a child gets to have it in their room.

3.     Affirmation cards

I know a lot of people wonder what to do with these, and I think again that’s a sign of our generation and feeling a little bit awkward. The way I use them, is each night, your child can draw a card out of the pack and read it (or you read it to them) For example, it may say “I am strong” and I will give an example of when I felt strong that day, then ask them to do the same. It won’t work each time – but again, it’s encouraging our children to think of themselves in a positive day.

4.     Displaying photographs

You can read my article on why this is great for a children’s self belief here. 

5.     Encouraging mistakes

This is a really difficult one, something that society doesn’t love or encourage. Allowing our children to make mistakes is SO important for future life. Think about it, all major leaps in science were created from mistakes. In fact, if something in a scientific environment worked first time, there would be a need to go back and test all the different options! My daughter poured herself some milk the other day and it went EVERYWHERE. I had to take a deep breath, and let her do it again while giving her some pointers. I was tired, it had been a long day but if by shouting at her, I am showing her that trying new things isn’t ok unless you can do it perfectly.

There are some more lovely ideas in this article around meal times, board games, and getting outdoors!

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