Self-esteem is an issue within psychology that arouses more and more interest in education on the part of parents. It is something that is beginning to have a lot of weight in homes since parents are increasingly aware that self-esteem patterns begin very early in life. After all, good self-esteem constitutes a strong armor that protects the child and future adult from the adversities of everyday life.
The awareness or concept we have about our own value varies depending on the character of the person and the environment in which they develop. Having good self-esteem is of utmost importance as it makes us happier and able to relate to the people around us in a more pleasant and assertive way. In short, it improves our quality of life and therefore, it is the job of parents to work on it from a young age. With this, it is possible to avoid serious problems such as depression, anorexia, shyness or drug abuse in the future.
There are certain clues that we can identify that warn us of possible low self-esteem in our children. It is very difficult to detect a lack of self-concept in children since most of the time they camouflage it with other behaviors or actions. In today’s article, based on the opinion of experts on the subject, we will talk about the different signs that we must take into account in order to recognize a lack of self-esteem in children If you’re worried about your child’s sense of self-worth, stick around to find out.
That self-confident, competent and valuable child denotes good self-esteem. These infants enjoy learning and do not feel inferior when asking for help. They tend to be responsible children, with good communication and their interpersonal relationships are adequate. On the contrary, children with low self-esteem do not trust themselves or others. They feel inferior and are shy, critical, uncreative and can even develop aggressive behaviors that result in social isolation. No parent wants this last scenario for their child, so below we list some signs that highlight a child’s possible low self-esteem:
A child with low self-esteem is usually sad most of the time even if he does not know how to answer why. It is as if nothing motivates them and they are “absent.” It seems that they are apathetic towards certain activities that the rest of their classmates like to do. In this case, parents must serve as support and guide so that their child finds the path to something they like. It doesn’t have to be academic. We are all good at something. Whether it is a sport or something creative, parents should be in charge of pushing this child’s skills.
2. Few social relationships
They have a hard time relating to children their age, therefore, they have few or no friends. They prefer to be alone since they do not understand the pleasure of having fun playing with their peers. Behind this, there are fears and insecurities and of course, low self-esteem.
3. Aggression
These children do not understand how they feel and have very little ability to properly manage your emotions Therefore, they resort to aggressiveness as a method of defense. These are children who hit or insult their classmates and therefore, this causes them to isolate themselves and not have interpersonal relationships.
4. Dependency
Children with low self-esteem tend to be very dependent on their parents. They prefer to stay at home with their parents rather than go out to the park with peers their age. Usually, they are infants with little ability to make decisions, they are very indecisive and therefore, they turn to their parents to resolve all types of situations.
“No” is the star word in the vocabulary of children with low self-esteem. They tend to be reluctant to try new things because they feel like they are going to fail and prefer not to try Phrases like “I don’t know how to do that…” or “I already told you that I didn’t know how to do it because we have tried…” are typical.
6. Shyness
They are excessively shy children, they have a hard time meeting new people or facing new situations. They feel comfortable in their daily lives and do not enjoy at all when something goes out of their comfort zone. Shyness in children to a certain extent is understandable and normal, however, when it interrupts their social relationships, we are talking about a serious problem.
7. Fear
A child with low self-esteem may be very careful and not very adventurous They are afraid and feel insecure in many situations. This is clearly seen when a child with good self-esteem does not even think twice about doing something new since he feels carefree and secure.
8. Perfectionism
They have high self-demand and do not allow themselves to make mistakes. If they do not do things perfectly, they feel that they are not doing them well and that they are not worth it. By never being satisfied with your results, you demonstrate a lack of self-confidence and low self-esteem.
How to improve a child’s self-esteem
If you have detected some of the signs described above, read on; Below we present some tips to improve the self-esteem of a boy or girl.
First of all, you must be clear that gaining good self-esteem in children takes time. Therefore, we invite you to be patient and continue with the process in a stable and continuous manner. If you see that the issue is beyond you, we recommend that you put yourself in the hands of a professional who can help you psychologically to cope with the long process that this entails. Remember that the most important thing is to try to help your child feel good about herself and, consequently, about the people around her. He always tries to convey the message that he loves him and above all, that he trusts him.
