Nurturing Confidence in the Early Years
Developing confidence in young children is essential in setting the foundation for a positive self-image and resilience later in life. In the book, Brudders Learns The Power of Confidence, Brudders the Bear learns the secret to becomming stronger and more confident.
Bur more than ever, it’s important for us to teach children how to be proud of both their successes and what they can learn from failures.
How to Nurture Children’s Confidence From a Young Age
So here are 7 ways to help nurture confidence in your growing children:
1. Promote Effort, Not Success
Children naturally want us to praise their efforts! But we, as adults, often focus more on the outcome than the perseverance and the effort of the process. In the book, Brudders Learns The Power of Confidence, Brudders the Bear learns that if we can visualize ourselves doing hard and challenging things, then we can push ourselves to try again and again, despite our failures along the way.
Creating situations where children can achieve success and feel a sense of accomplishment is a great way to promote self-esteem. This can be as simple as completing or helping with a task. We then center the praise around the effort, not the outcome. For example, parents or teachers can say things like, “I noticed how carefully you wiped up the spilled water. That was helpful!” Or, “I saw how tricky that puzzle was. I am impressed with how you stuck with it!”
2. Teach Children Not to Compare Themselves
It’s only natural for children to compare their progress with others. But teaching children to compare their current efforts to their previous efforts, lessens the pressure and the discouragement they feel when they don’t “measure” up.
When Brudders the Bear attempts to climb the tree for the first time, he only focuses on the success of the squirrels. This causes him to get frustrated, and he believes he will never make it in time.
When children set and work towards their own goals it shifts the focus from comparing to others to improving their own skills and abilities. It doesn’t matter what others have done, we simply want our focus to be on self-improvement.
Setting small, achievable goals that are appropriate for age and abilities is the perfect way to build confidence and purpose.
3. Foster a Growth Mindset
When young children learn that abilities and intelligence are developed through effort and learning, they will feel encouraged to be brave. To try again when they fail. To be resilient. To feel those big feelings of frustration and continue on. We encourage them to view challenges as opportunities to grow.
4. Encourage Independence and Promote Choice
Encourage young children to try taking on tasks by themselves, even if it means they make mistakes. Learning to do things independently builds self-reliance and confidence. When they fail, which they will, we model patience and acceptance and promote positive self-talk. “I see that you are frustrated that the milk spilled on the floor. What could you change next time?”
Children thrive on making their own choices and decisions. They love feeling like a big helper and it’s so important that they feel capable. Encouraging age-appropriate choices whenever possible is a great way to instill confidence.
5. Model Support and Encouragement
When we pour support into children and provide positive reinforcement and encouragement no matter the situation, children believe they can take on the world. Gentle guidance instead of criticism empowers children, and they learn that mistakes are a part of the process. And they are loved and valued regardless of their achievements.
Brudders’ best bud, Zeke, is a fantastic friend and cheerleader. He reminds Brudders that he is good at all sorts of things, including running races or tracking scents. But when Brudders stopped to question himself, he lost his way.
Young children need lots of encouragement. Frustrations often run high. But when an adult can sit and bond with their child, helping them through their big feelings, children slowly learn how to speak to themselves in a kind and encouraging way.
6. Develop Problem-Solving Skills
Zeke guides Brudders the Bear to imagine himself finishing the race and solving the problem in his mind. He reminds Brudders how talented he is and leads him to develop a solution to the problem.
When adults provide patience, time, and space to think through solutions it empowers young kids and gives them the confidence to know how to handle new situations.
7. Instill a Love of Books
Children learn so much about behavior, actions, situations, and communication through storytelling and literature. We wrote Brudders Learns The Power of Confidence to inspire young children to feel capable, confident, and powerful as they take on everyday challenges.
For an interactive learning experience, grab your child the book, Brudders Learns The Power of Confidence, and our snuggly Brudders the Bear. Or save big and get free shipping with code FREESHIP when you get our bundle box with all three Brudders books plus the stuffed Brudders!
