When you become a parent, you are ultimately signing yourself up for a lifelong role which requires an awful lot from you. Of course, with the unconditional love that parents have for their kids, these requirements will feel less like a chore and more like a blessing. That isn’t to say that it’s not very challenging at times, and to be the best parent you can be you’ll be wanting to check in with yourself and your parenting style whenever possible. A massively significant area in your child’s life is self-esteem, as it is for all of us. This important and delicate concept is influenced by many factors, and in turn, influences many areas of your child’s development and life experience. While some things are out of your control, as a parent you still play a crucial role. Here are some things to remember about your role in building your child’s self-esteem.
You Play a Part in Processes Outside of Your Specific Relationship
It can be easy to focus entirely on the interactions between yourself and your child and to carefully consider how this affects their view of the world and themselves. While this is incredibly important, you do also play a part in external factors. For example, how you respond to hearing about a conversation held between your child and their teacher can greatly impact their development of self-esteem.
Think Carefully About Your Words and Actions
It may feel that helping self-esteem to develop comes about from specific discussions and behaviors, but in reality, everything you say and do can sway the way your child perceives these matters. Always check in with the language you use, about your family and other people but also yourself.