Helping children feel good about themselves

There are a lot of strains on children growing up in today's world. Many have a hard time dealing with the isolation of covid and making friends. They might also struggle with things like schoolwork, broken families and home life. Here are some tips for how you can help children to feel good about themselves.

1. Put your phone away

How many times have we heard it? How many times do we need to be told? Put your phone away. If every time your child looks to you for attention, they are blocked by the obstacle of your mobile phone, tablet or TV, they are very quickly going to start feeling bad about themselves.

2. Set screen-free time

Set aside sometime each day to be device-free with your child. Take notice of what your child likes to do and compliment them on their abilities. You might use phrases like "you're good at that".

You might like to teach your child something. Perhaps you could cook dinner together. Hand down a recipe to them that has been passed down through the generations in your family. What are their favourite foods? Maybe they could work towards being able to cook them solo. Are there any food-related stories that you can tell them about when they were younger? What was their favourite food when they first started to eat?

3. Have a joint hobby

Is there something that they like doing that you could join in on? Maybe start a new class or social activity together. Some children might even like to do one on their own. Something that lets their personality and skills shine.

You might like to plan a pamper day, take them clothes shopping and for a new haircut. Or, give them some money to go and see a movie and get lunch with a friend. If they're not a particularly social child, but groan at the thought of spending a day with you; you can hire a young, funky babysitter to act as a big brother or sister.

At the end of the day, the most important thing we can do for our children to help them feel good about themselves is to take an active interest in themselves and their lives. Talk to them, listen to them; sit down together at the dinner table with no devices and ask them how their day is going.