Follow These Eight Easy Parenting Tips To Raise a Confident Child
How to help your child grow up confident and happy
Here’s my backstory. I was bullied in both the schools I was in & couldn’t retaliate because I thought so little of myself. On sad lonely days, I wish Santa Claus would appear to dole out parenting tips to my folks. I might not have had such a tough time growing up if my parents had not taken a DIY approach to parenting.
Stands to reason, that when my son was born, I actively looked for counterintuitive parenting advice, different from how I was raised.
These eight parenting tips have worked wonderfully well to help my toddler grow up confident & happy. I’ve been told the earlier we implement them the better will be the outcome.
Letting your child know their voice matters
What do most of us do when our child interrupts a conversation? We call them rude & demand they apologize.
We react badly to a child’s normal behavior partly from ego & partly from a need to people please. Here is how I impress upon my child that he is the most important human in the world to me. I don’t downplay his world. I give him the attention he deserves when he interrupts. It’s how he will learn to talk fearlessly in a crowded room because he knows his voice matters.
The most useful of parenting tips to help your child learn body positivity.
To me, this is really important. As a child, I was bullied for being short. My son probably has my genes. So I never talk down to him. I don’t bark, scold, or yell instructions. I get down to his eye level to talk with him. With this, I believe my child hears me better & gains the confidence to look people in the eye.
Teaching them effort, not outcome matters
I praise the effort not the results. When I praise my child’s talents, he starts to believe his talents are finite. When I praise efforts, he becomes aware that:
- Talents can become infinite with effort.
- He can excel at anything if he is focused enough.
- Circumstances need not forever determine his abilities.
Teaching them their permission matters
We know that kids need to be taught good & bad touch. But this starts at home. Kids need to have the power to say NO if they don’t like being hugged/ kissed. This happens naturally when they are comfortable saying NO to their parents. I ask my child permission to hug/ kiss him. His permission matters. Even to me. Especially to me.
Fostering independence
My toddler is learning to do stuff for the first time. He messes up because he hasn’t learned adult dexterity as yet. The secret is that I let him. Rather than lose my cool over a glass of spilt milk I cheer his attempts to hold the glass. The messing-up shows me he doesn’t care if he fails. That could well be his secret recipe for future success.
Encouraging him to take calculated risks
I let my son push his boundaries at playtime. He climbs, runs when he finds space, falls, acts up & is naughty. I don’t mind him throwing the occasional tantrum at a restaurant.
He has yelled with joy in public spaces & I let him. This is him exploring his limits. This is him learning what is acceptable & what is not. It may be easier for him to take calculated risks when he needs to as an adult.
Controversial but useful parenting tips to help him demand respect
This parenting tip is one you can skip if it makes you uncomfortable. I implemented it because of my difficult upbringing. I was taught to respect adults, even if they often disrespected me by yelling at me & violating my boundaries. So, I decided I wouldn’t force that on my son.
He is learning that there are those who are worthy of respect and those who aren’t. I believe this way my son may not easily fall prey to an adult’s insecurities or vested interests.
One of the best parenting tips to help my child stand up for himself
I let him fight in case he has to. I don’t encourage him to initiate a fight but if he is dragged into it I encourage him to kick his way out.
He is trying to find his place in the world.
These parenting tips have helped my son immensely. He is growing intelligent, happy, confident & secure. He loves new experiences & knows very little fear.
What makes me happiest is that he listens because he knows we don’t speak from ego but with his best interests at heart.
Your child will grow up in the blink of an eye. When you learn the fine art of parenting you can make their fleeting childhood years memorable.
