Kids

Raising Kids That Thrive

Children Are Beautiful Mini-Cloned Versions Of Their Parents. Are You Proud Of Your Little Joyful Creation?

I WILL SHOW YOU HOW TO:

Stay Positive
I’ll Help You Parent With Intention, So You Can Raise Your Littles Without Stress Or Losing Your Sh*t.

Raise Culturally Sound Kids
Learn how to help your kids be mindful of others. Learn to love and embrace everyone’s differences (instead of ignoring or dismissing them).

Have Fun
Discover how to have fun in ways that aren’t boring or repetitive!

Develop A Growth Mindset
Learn how to reframe your minds, shift perspectives and GROW that brain!

Your Kids Are Blessed To Have YOU!

  • 8 Steps To Help Your Child With Self-Esteem

    Steps to Positive Self Esteem: How Can I Help My Child Develop Positive Self-Esteem?

    Self-esteem comes from within. It isn’t something we can give our children, but we can foster it by teaching them the skills they need to gain confidence. Part of that process entails allowing them the freedom to make choices – and to fail.

    Learning from failure is part of the process. For those who have illusions of control over their kids, this can be difficult. Control is often disguised as protection or safety, which is part of parenting, but within limits.

    Related: darlingsteps.com/everything-you-didnt-know-raise-happy-confident-kids

    Step 1: Communicate Expectations with Accountability Clearly

    Expectations lead to accountability. Be clear about your expectations. Ensure you both agree on the expectations. If needed, spell it out step-by-step. This is part of teaching kids what you want them to do, rather than just punishing them for doing it wrong, or different, from your wishes.

    “Each day, I want you to bring your books home, along with the assignments for each class. After you finish your snack, do your homework. When I get home at 6:00, I will review your assignments for the next day. If they are not complete, you will not have any phone, tv, or computer time until everything is complete. Any questions?”

    “For every day that your assigned chores are completed before bed, you will earn $2. If the chores are not completed, you receive no allowance for that day.”

    If needed, outline specifically what needs to be done for a chore to be considered complete, such as, “Make your bed, pick up everything lying around, and put clothes away or in the hamper.”

    Step 2. Get All the Adults on the Same Page

    Clear rules and expectations should be agreed upon by all adults, including grandparents and sitters.

    Help others understand that inconsistency leads to many problems, not the least of which is teaching your kids how to manipulate people and decrease the possibility of producing responsible, confident adults.

    If there are disagreements, work it out without your child suffering the consequences of adults letting them down.

    Step 3. Be Consistent. Follow Through and Negotiate any Changes Explicitly

    Your kids must take responsibility for their choices – and you do, too. If you make it clear that homework will be checked when you get home from work, check the homework. Do it every day. Hold up your end of the deal. Show them that school is a priority.

    If you’re inconsistent in following the guidelines you put in place, you’re sending a message that this issue is not important – and that you can’t be trusted to follow through with your responsibilities. You’re inadvertently teaching your child that you aren’t trustworthy.

    The result is mixed messages and a child who may take advantage of this by slacking off on their end of the deal.

    If there’s a ballgame or another extracurricular activity after school and homework needs to be done at a different time, make that explicit. Make clear plans in advance whenever possible. “Do your homework after dinner tomorrow since you’ll be late getting home.”

    Related: darlingsteps.com/what-are-you-teaching-your-child-by-being-inconsistent

    Step 4. Allow Them to Experience the Natural Consequences That Arise From Their Choices

    You must be willing to let them fail. This is where most people stop nodding in agreement.

    This requires that your self-esteem can withstand any judgment from teachers, family, friends, and others. And, that you understand that you have a limited amount of control over another human, even your child.

    You also must be willing to tolerate the conflict it may cause in your home and family.

    With any luck, you may only have to allow this to go to the extreme a few times before they get the message. For example, your child will begin to realize that it is their responsibility to do what is required for school, and that you won’t protect them from the consequences of their actions and choices.

    “It’s time for bed. I see that your homework still isn’t complete. You’ll have to go to school tomorrow and tell the teachers that you didn’t complete your homework.”

    “If you receive detention, you’ll need to serve it. If you get a failing grade, you’ll need to work harder the rest of the year to recover. The coach will drop you from the roster for the year. If you don’t get credit for the class, you may have to repeat it in summer school – and earn the money to pay for it.”

    Stand firm – get all adults in agreement.

    Step 5. Help Them Learn From Their Failures and Shortcomings

    Failing is most helpful when we learn something from it. We all must learn to live with our decisions and actions, or inaction. If and when they’re willing, ask your children to tell you what they learned from the experience.

    However, avoid asking this when the tension is high. After the incident, find a teachable moment in which to discuss it. Talk about how they can handle this situation differently in the future.

    They may make the wrong choice again and again. If so, at some point, they will finally realize that when they make that choice, they’re also choosing the consequences that go with it.

    We all make choices that are not the best option – even though we know the consequences. That happens. Learn to let go and always love them while sticking to your standards, even when you’re disappointed, and they’re miserable.

    “Are you ready to talk about what went wrong and what you can do differently next time?” If not, let it go and say, “Let me know when you’re ready to talk about it.”

    Related: darlingsteps.com/ultimateguidetogrowthmindsetformomskids

    Step 6. Encourage Good Behavior and Avoid Reinforcing Bad Behavior

    “Catch them being good” is a phrase that can’t be overstated. When your kids do things that you want to see more of, thank them. Tell them you appreciate them and use your words to describe what you like. “I appreciate it when your chores are done early, and we can relax after dinner.”

    Reinforce their efforts even when they miss the mark. “I know you tried your best on the math test. Maybe your teacher can offer some guidance on what you missed.”

    Be careful that you don’t inadvertently lower the expectations.

    For example, the expectation is that chores are done before bed, so avoid going overboard with praise for doing what is expected. Acknowledge it with a simple “Thanks for cleaning your room today.” Hopefully, you’re already reinforcing this behavior, such as with a weekly allowance.

    Completing the chores early and without any stress is something you want to praise and reinforce – going beyond the minimum.

    Related: daringsteps.com/10-skills-every-kids-needs-to-know

    Step 7. Set up Opportunities for Your Child to Succeed

    Allow children to make choices from an early age, within reason. “You need to put on a coat before leaving for school. Do you want to wear the red or green one?” This doesn’t give them the option to go without a coat. It’s a safe way to teach decision-making.

    As they get older, the choices become riskier, but that is part of the developmental cycle. Those who begin making decisions at an early age will develop more confidence, and therefore, are more likely to take calculated risks.

    Giving them more choices within reason builds more confidence.

    If they mess up a lot, say coming home at 10 instead of 8:30, you can easily say “I may have overestimated how much freedom you can handle right now. Weekend curfew will be 7:00 now, and we’ll revisit this when you demonstrate the ability to adhere to that curfew for a while.”

    Related: darlingsteps.com/boostkidsconfidence

    Step 8. Love Them Anyway

    Learn to detach from the outcome. Do what you can to uphold your responsibility to your children and accept that you can’t control the outcome.

    Always separate the behavior from the child.

    I don’t like what you did, but I love you

    The Self-Esteem Ladder

    • Expectations lead to accountability.
    • Accountability leads to responsibility.
    • Responsibility leads to choices.
    • Choices lead to consequences.
    • Consequences lead to critical thinking.
    • Critical thinking leads to taking more calculated risks.
    • Taking risks leads to success and failure.
    • Success and failure lead to learning.
    • Learning leads to growth.
    • Growth leads to confidence.
    • Confidence leads to expectations.

    Related: darlingsteps.com/everything-you-didnt-know-raise-happy-confident-kids

    What’s Next:

    Consider these self-reflection questions in your endeavor to promote positive self-esteem in your children:

    1. How often do you provide opportunities for your child to learn by allowing them to make decisions on their own?
    1. How well do you uphold your responsibilities by being clear about expectations and consequences, following through, and working together with other adults?
    1. How do you talk about mistakes and failures to help your children learn?
    1. Do you always separate the misdeed from the child?
    1. In what ways do you show that you appreciate their efforts when they do their best?
    1. How do you reinforce good behavior and choices?
    1. Do you allow your kids to experience negative consequences for choices and behavior? In what situations is this more difficult for you?

    Related: darlingsteps.com/ultimateguidetogrowthmindsetformomskids

    Be honest with yourself. If you wish to experience improvement in any area, set some goals and get help with parenting, if needed. Your children deserve it!

  • Everything You Need To Know About Teaching Kids Resilience

    How The “Hero’s Journey” Can Teach Your Kids About Resilience

    Kids need heroes.

    I know you want to raise a resilient child. So, the best way to do this is to make sure your kids have a hero in their lives. Someone who is going to inspire them and offer a moral compass. Someone who is going to be a powerful role-model. A character who shows that life is an adventure that comes with troubles and hardships, enemies and danger, but always ends well. As long as the hero doesn’t give up, victory is possible.

    As Albert Einstein said:

    “You never fail until you stop trying.”

    Every good movie, book, or story typically has one myth in the middle – a myth called “The Hero’s Journey” that was introduced by Joseph Campbell in his book “The Hero with A Thousand Faces.”

    The author aims to show to us that adventures world-famous heroes are facing aren’t far from what we’re going through in our present life, each day.

    Understanding this will support you and your child to be more persistent, patient, and resilient, just like Simba, Hercules, Luke Skywalker, and Batman. 

    The hero’s journey usually consists of 12 steps which could be divided into 3 major stages: 

    1. The first stage. This stage starts with the hero’s separation from his ordinary life. This separation happens because the hero’s boring life has been challenged by a call or invitation to adventure.

    As stepping out of one’s comfort zone is not easy, the hero hesitates at first and decides to refuse the invitation. Soon enough, he regrets that decision and then comes across someone wise and inspiring who becomes his mentor. Once the hero feels supported and guided, he is ready to take the journey.

    1. The second stage. As the journey unfolds, trials, challenges and difficulties are rising. One is more difficult than the other.

    This part carries the most significance for learning that resilience is a necessary part of any successful adventure and life in general. When the hero endures uncomfortable and painful tests and faces the strongest enemies, they often find new ways of solving challenges and adopt many shifts in mindset.

    1. The third and final stage. Steps in this stage include: reward, the road back home, the final test, and return home.

    After many battles and obstacles, the hero finally returns to their former life. From the outside, everything seems to be the same, yet it all feels very different. This is because the hero has changed and transformed through the journey. 

    Helping your child to understand the hero’s journey within a movie, cartoon, or fairytale is a fantastic way to help them develop a moral compass of integrity, resilience, and compassion. 

    This kind of storytelling contains some major resilience-forming ideas:

    • Helps children understand the importance of individual strengths
    • Introduces the benefits of learning from mistakes
    • Empowers children to make decisions
    • Recognizes the importance of being open to support 
    • Promotes qualities such as fairness, integrity, persistence, and kindness
    • Demonstrates how behaviors affect others
    • Stresses the importance of generosity 
    • Helps kids understand that life’s events aren’t random 
    • Teaches the importance of discipline in life 

    Your children will face massive change through their life, just like you did. Through that change they will gain greater insight into their identity and capabilities.

    The sooner they find out that life carries trials, tests, and difficulties, the better equipped they will be to face them. 

    With morally balanced and highly accountable heroes in your child’s immediate surroundings, your child learns to embrace change in life as they embark on their own wonderful journeys and adventures. 

    Are you ready to become that hero for your child?

    Start by identifying your current reality, recognizing the changes you need to make, and then make them in order to become a better version of yourself and a greater role-model of resilience for your child.

    Life Lessons: How the Hero’s Journey Can Teach Kids About Perseverance

    Every parent would like their child to be successful in life – a winner, an autonomous, resilient, self-confident person, who is more often happy and satisfied than not – someone who conquers everyday challenges and leaves the battle without too much scarring.

    Brilliant scientist and Nobel Prize winner, Marie Curie said, “Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” 

    Yes, perseverance is what it takes to deal with life’s difficulties each and every day.

    So, how do we do that? How do we teach our children to stay persistent despite difficulties and delays in achieving success?

    • Do we set them on our lap and tell them life is hard, but they need to be strong?
    • Do we put complicated tasks on their path to see how they’ll deal with them?

    The best way to teach perseverance to kids is to read them stories. You just have to spend quality time with your child and be patient. Reading stories about heroes and even introducing them to various cartoons or movies can be more beneficial than you might think. 

    The “Hero’s Journey” is the standard template used in stories, fairy tales, and movie plots. It explains how the hero handles the situation, deals with the difficulties, solves the critical issues, and as a result, learns something new and significant. 

    Here are the beneficial, perseverance-related messages your child will get from heroic tales:

    1. Everyone is good enough to be a hero

    Most of the stories start by describing the hero’s life before the adventure begins. Here, a child will learn that heroes are common, regular, everyday people who encounter extraordinary situations.

    • Kids don’t have to own superpowers to be persistent in dealing with life. Being who they are is their biggest power.
    1. New adventures are all around us

    An adventure doesn’t have to start dramatically. Kids just have to recognize it and accept it as challenging but not impossible. Everyday life is full of simple and complicated challenges.

    • The hero’s journey explains that anything that disrupts your daily life can be perceived as a challenge.
    1. It is okay to have doubts

    You will often see heroes who have second thoughts, personal doubts, and often refuse to face the challenge at first. This teaches children that it’s okay to be scared or to value the comfort one’s hometown more than an exotic adventure. However, the rest of the story sends a message that overcoming a challenge comes with a great reward.

    1. It’s okay to receive support

    Heroes usually have their mentors. This gives children a chance to learn that it’s okay to ask for help and accept support. Perseverance is all about knowing when to give 100% of yourself, when to take a break, and when to share the burden.

    • Mentors are here to provide the reality check, show the hero how to do things, and applaud the effort.
    1. The luck is ever-changing, but persistence pays off

    Heroes in tales deal with various tests before they face the final ordeal. They meet their allies and enemies.

    This happens in a child’s everyday life too, but we don’t define those events in such a dramatic way. The child learns that even though their abilities are tested continuously, they gain deeper insight after accomplishing each task.

    1. Every journey comes with a lesson

    The outcome of the hero’s journey (be it victory or defeat) doesn’t matter that much. What counts is the fact that, through facing and enduring challenges, the hero transforms and develops. Facing his fears, the hero grows as a person, learns many things, and finds fresh hope.

    This helps children learn that being persistent pays off, even when they don’t achieve what they’ve planned. Gaining experience is just as valuable in a child’s life as succeeding.

    Planting the seed of perseverance in your child’s mind might seem complicated, but it is rather simple. Just ensure that you are there for them when they fall to validate their emotions and reward their steps forward, no matter how small they are. 

    Related: darlingsteps.com/teachkidsresilience

    Most importantly, be a person who doesn’t give up easily and your child will learn to do the same. You can be their hero!

    resilient child happy

  • A Parent’s Guide to Asking Siblings to Babysit

    Older children have been babysitting their siblings for generations. However, it’s a decision that each family needs to make for itself.

    Of course, there are advantages to having a babysitter who knows your house rules and doesn’t need a ride home at the end of the night. On the other hand, keeping your family safe and happy is much more important than any minor convenience.

    Related: How Working Moms Manage Time Like a Pro

    Are you thinking about putting one child in charge of their brothers and sisters? Consider these factors before you make your final decision.

    Asking Your Child to Babysit Their Siblings

    Maryland is currently the only state with a legal minimum age for babysitting. Given that individual children mature at very different rates, parents may be the most reliable judges as to when a child is ready.

    Keep these tips in mind for a successful start:

    Assess the situation

    What’s your child’s track record when it comes to making decisions and following through on commitments? Do your children play well together or bicker much of the time? Plus, if children are close in age, it may be more difficult for one to exert authority.

    Make it optional

    Find out whether your child is interested in babysitting. The arrangement is unlikely to work without their cooperation.

    Set limits

    Any caregiving arrangement has to allow sufficient time for your child’s other activities, including school and socializing. Watch for any signs that they’re becoming overburdened.

    Aim for Consensus

    Discuss your plans with each family member. Ideally, the whole family will be on board. Be open to feedback and try to address any concerns.

    Offer rewards

    Some parents pay children to babysit, and others consider it part of the daily routine. If you’re not exchanging money, you can show your gratitude in other ways like special privileges or a gift.

    Preparing Your Child to Babysit Their Siblings

    The basic principles of babysitting apply whether you’re working with a family member or a professional service. Help your child to succeed in their new role.

    Use these techniques to help prepare your child for babysitting others:

    Start small

    Leave your child in charge for an hour at first. That way, they can practice before they attempt an entire evening.

    Related: End The Power Struggles NOW

    Seek training

    Babysitting classes can help any caregiver feel more competent and confident. Check with your local universities, hospitals, or Red Cross.

    Role play

    You can also teach your children at home. Present them with scenarios like a stranger coming to the door or a fire starting in the kitchen. Let them show you how they’d respond.

    Review expectations

    The process may be more informal when you’re hiring your own child, but they need to take their responsibility seriously. Go over tasks like preparing meals and enforcing bedtimes.

    Discuss discipline

    Think about the consequences for serious misbehavior. You may want to deal with it when you get home or give your child the authority to enforce timeouts or withhold privileges.

    Related: How To Discipline Your Kids

    Ban guests

    Visitors can distract any babysitter from their duties. Let your child know your policy about guests. You may also want to put limits on phone calls and social media if you think your child will have trouble concentrating.

    Provide emergency contacts

    Ensure that your children know what to do in an emergency in case you’re not home. In addition to family fire drills, leave a list of resources they can contact, including a neighbor or relative who lives close by.

    Taking care of siblings can be a useful way for older children to contribute to family life and learn valuable lessons about handling responsibility.

    Related: Prepare for an Emergency

    If your child seems mature and interacts well with their brothers and sisters, you may want to ask them to babysit on a trial basis.

  • How To Build & Boost Your Childs Confidence

    How to Build Your Daughter’s Self-Esteem and Confidence

    Children of both genders can suffer from self-esteem and self-confidence issues. However, girls tend to have challenges in these areas more often.

    Research shows that girls are much more likely to develop eating disorders. They’re more likely to self-harm when stressed or depressed. Also, girls think about and attempt suicide at twice the rate of boys of the same age.

    Related: Epic Ultimate Guide To Growth Mindset For Parents

    While all children need high levels of self-esteem and confidence, many girls are especially at risk.

    Help your daughter have a happy and emotionally healthy life:

    1. Determine what she’s good at and help her develop that skill. Everyone feels good about themselves when they do something that they are good at. The better you are at it, the better you tend to feel. It makes you feel special and capable.

            ◦ As a parent, you already have a good idea of your daughter’s likes and strengths. From those items, identify something that your daughter loves to do and help her excel at it. Her confidence and self-esteem will soar.

    1. Sign her up for team sports. Team sports have been shown to benefit girls by making them more confident. Team sports are a great way to learn new skills, make new friends, and build a social circle.

            ◦ Winning and learning how to handle defeat are both great for one’s self-esteem and confidence.

    1. Ensure that your daughter understands that your love isn’t conditional. Every child needs to understand without a doubt that they are loved regardless of their choices or success.
    2. Let her have her own style. Allow your daughter to have her own unique style. This includes things like music, hair, and clothing. While her choices might not match your own, finding an identity can create emotional stability. This foundation can be a wonderful footing for self-esteem and confidence.
    3. Be a good example. Your daughter is always watching, even if she isn’t always listening. If she sees her mother judging her own body in a negative way, this sends a negative message. Fathers can also say inappropriate things about women that have a negative effect on girls.

            ◦ Consider how your behavior and comments are interpreted by your daughter.

    1. Praise effort as well as outcomes. It’s not possible to be successful all of the time, so focus on praising effort. There are things your child simply won’t be good at. It’s counterproductive to be critical when your child did the best they could.
    2. Teach assertiveness. Confidence and self-esteem largely come from the ability to influence and direct your own life. Without assertiveness, your child is subject to the whims of everyone around her. Assertiveness teaches your daughter than her opinion and wishes are important.
    3. Encourage your daughter to try new things. New things can be a little scary. Overcoming that apprehension is a good thing. It also allows your daughter to add new activities, skills, and people to her life – all of which will boost her self-esteem and confidence.

    Related: GROW Your Childs Self Esteem

    Daughters often need a little more help and attention than boys do. If you’re having serious issues with your child, seek out professional assistance immediately. It’s worth the potential cost and discomfort.

    There are many things parents can do to help their daughter thrive into adulthood. Building self-esteem and confidence in your daughter is an important responsibility.

    What Can Albert Einstein Teach Your Kids About Confidence?

    Psychologists often describe confidence as a person’s belief in their own ability to succeed. Naturally, every parent would like their child to be self-confident.

    However, what seems to challenge parents the most is striking a healthy balance when encouraging confidence. They want to nurture their child’s confidence, but not let them get too arrogant.

    Related: Hacks to Help Your Child Thrive

    Also, many parents have a challenge with self-confidence themselves.  

    The brilliant Albert Einstein said:

    “If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself.”

    This is the key issue: many parents don’t know how to teach confidence to their kids.

    • Where do we draw a line?
    • Do we push our children to do more or give them all the space they need?
    • Can our kids learn how to be self-confident if we are not?

    Answers to these questions might seem complicated, but the good news is – you don’t have to do it alone. There are plenty of resources to help you gain direction and clarity.

    Even if you aren’t the most confident person in the world, you’ll do a lot for your child if you offer them a healthy, positive role model. It can be someone they know, a fictional character, or a celebrity. The famous physicist, Albert Einstein, is a perfect example.

    confident child girl

    Here’s what your child can learn about confidence from Einstein’s life and work:

    1. It’s okay to have special interests. When he was nine, Einstein went to high school. There, he spent only 3–4 hours a week studying math and science. He was an odd kid, and eventually, he was asked to leave high school and he did it.

            ◦ His home was the only place where he could pursue his interests. Later in life, his special interests led him to win the Nobel Prize and become one of the most famous theoretical physicists in the world.

            ◦ Expose your child to a wide variety of activities and encourage them once they find something they love. Quirky hobbies can be particularly helpful for kids who don’t exactly fit in at school. The fact they are special at something will affect their confidence positively.

    1. Imagination is the answer. Albert Einstein was the biggest advocate of imagination and creativity.

       “Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.”

            ◦ Children have a particularly vivid imagination. Let them use it. Help them fantasize.

    Encourage them to visualize they’ll be doing something important or fulfilling when they grow up.

            ◦ Their dreams might seem unrealistic at the moment, but don’t lower their expectations. It is important they are thinking about their goals.

    1. Persistence needs to be encouraged. When he was just a child, Einstein was considered dyslexic and a slow learner. In fact, many adults thought he was stupid. Later on, he had problems in school. Then, he failed in his first attempt to enroll into Zurich Polytechnic University. During the war, he was targeted by Nazis.

            ◦ As you can see, obstacles and challenges were all around him. However, he persisted and achieved his goals.

            ◦ Your child will come across many setbacks in life too. Avoid the temptation to be their savior. Let them know you are here if they need you but give them a chance to figure things out on their own.

            ◦ To become confident, kids need to learn that it’s okay to take risks and fail. Let them try and get up once they fall. This will make them resilient and strong enough to deal with life’s challenges.

    If you think Albert Einstein is a too-advanced example of confidence for children at a young age, substitute someone else that can send similar messages. 

    Diversity is paramount, optimism and imagination are potent weapons, perseverance and autonomy are highly valued, and confidence is a path to a happy life!

    How To Raise a Confident Child

    Confidence is about being comfortable with who you are, willing to give things a go – even if you’re not sure you’ll succeed – and trusting your own judgment. How can we raise a confident child in such a doubtful world? How can we instill this feeling in our children if it doesn’t come naturally to them? Or worse, if we aren’t confident ourselves? There’s no 100% guarantee that our child will grow up a confident man or woman, but there’s many tried and tested ways to cultivate it now.

    Here are a few thoughts:

    • Accept your child’s starting point!

    This is HUGE. Every child is different and each one will grow at different levels. Start where are.

    • Don’t force them into situations they aren’t comfortable with

    Have you ever wanted your child to be ready for that thing or that occasion? Except, they just wouldn’t act the way you wanted them to? They just…weren’t, ya know, getting it? I know I’ve been guilty so many times of trying to rush a process. But that’s a problem. There’s truly a time for everything. Trying to put our kids in situations they aren’t ready for, is just a recipe for disaster and a surefire way to gut their confidence in half.

    • Take small steps to encourage confidence

    Give compliments every day. Words of affirmation. Speak out with praise when your kiddo does the right thing and not just judgment or consequence when they do something bad wrong. Slow and steady. Taking time to be intentional each and every day is one of the best things we can do for our children. It creates a habit for us and is positive repetition and reinforcement for them.

    • Work out what their fear is

    This may or may not be a challenge for you, but simply put, you must get to the root of most problems. FEAR. Whether or not they admit it, or are able to coherently vocalize it, there is a fear that exists. Find it and CRUSH IT FAST. We all know how crippling fear can be if left untouched. This doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to rid every fear or that you need to, but instead, learning how to channel that fear into motivation.

    • Keep praise special

    I mentioned giving praise above as a great way to build confidence in small steps, but be careful with this one. I don’t mean you should praise everything your kid does. You know those parents. Just, don’t. Simply put, too much praise can lose its value with your child and you don’t want that.

    • Find their forte and allow it to flourish

    The most wonderful thing we could do for our children is nurture them. Especially in areas where they excel. If you’re blessed to see a strong suit in your kiddo when their young, keep supporting it. Give them everything you possibly can to allow them to flourish in whatever area they’re showing special abilities.

    • Step back sometimes and let them have at it

    Don’t rush ahead of them or dart to lend a helping hand. Certainly preaching to myself here! Step back and watch them. Allow them to take the lead. They just may surprise you!

    What do you think? Did I miss any BIG points here? Share with us below!

    happy confident child
    confident mom pointing