First things first, what is confidence?
听Confidence is a mindset. It鈥檚 about looking at every situation as an opportunity to learn and improve. It鈥檚 about knowing that you鈥檝e 鈥済ot this,鈥� but not feeling downhearted or discouraged if you don鈥檛.
Dr Samuels says confidence is necessary for growth. 鈥淚f you feel confident, you鈥檒l be able to overcome setbacks and learn from your mistakes. You may receive negative feedback, but you鈥檒l see it as an opportunity to get better,鈥� she says.
Confidence is directly linked to academic performance, so it鈥檚 important to make sure your child is full of it 鈥� in a good way. Here鈥檚 how:
Model confidence
Kids pick up a confident mindset from their parents, so it鈥檚 important to bite your negative-Nancy tongue and be a good role model. Dr Samuels says it鈥檚 time to stop with the negative self-talk. 鈥淧arents saying 鈥業 can鈥檛 do something鈥� or 鈥業鈥檓 not good at something鈥� in front of their children can be very damaging. They have to be aware of the impact that modelling will have on their children,鈥� she says. Simply put, if you want your child to be confident, be confident.
Encourage risk taking
When we think about risk, it鈥檚 easy to jump to a negative place. We鈥檙e not saying your child should bring back the planking trend, we鈥檙e talking about the healthy kind of risks that help them grow. 鈥淓ncouraging your kids to be adventurous and give things a go is the only way they鈥檒l build new skills,鈥� Dr Samuels says. As well as instilling confidence, risk-taking helps kids develop independent thinking, motor skills and perception and helps parents identify areas where their child may need extra guidance or support.
Don鈥檛 solve their problems
It鈥檚 in our nature to want to protect our children from failure, but intervening won鈥檛 do them any favours in the confidence department. Dr Samuels says kids need to understand that failure 鈥� and the emotions that come with it 鈥� are normal. 鈥淚t鈥檚 ok to help them through the process of problem solving, rather than coming in as the knight in shining armour and solving it for them,鈥� she says. They鈥檒l probably struggle, maybe even fail, but they鈥檒l always learn. 听
Get outside learning support
There is a real value in adults 鈥� beyond parents and teachers 鈥� providing kids with the encouragement and support they need to grow. Dr Samuels says that when it comes to learning, it鈥檚 the partnership and allegiance that kids have with their tutor that really builds their confidence. 鈥淲e know that children are often too nervous to put their hand up in class to admit they don鈥檛 know something in front of their peers,鈥� she says. It鈥檚 important to find a safe space where kids feel comfortable to ask questions or admit they don鈥檛 know something without being judged.
