by Kristen Stamey

Created on: June 18, 2008

Children around the world face the possibility of becoming bulimic, anorexic, suicidal, highly depressed; as well as obtaining many other deadly illnesses. Our children and the children of our loved ones are at risk due to an ongoing lack of self-esteem in today's kids. Why is it that so many children are overweight, under-educated, and being honored for graduating pre-school? This sad reality is due to a lack of confidence in the early stages of these children's lives. We are rewarding children for small achievements that used to be expectations, letting them play video games or watch too much television inside instead of playing outside like we all used to do, and we're told that we need to constantly tell them how smart they are and how proud we are. The problem is that children now have such low expectations of themselves and due to this epidemic, they have not really had any accomplishments which contribute to their lack of self-esteem. Its vital that parents begin to involve their children in the activities that DO enrich their self-esteem and let the children figure out on their own how much they are worth. These types of activities are sports, the arts, reading, and many more. When children work hard to become better at something they are able to be more satisfied. Not only do sports teach children that its important to be a team player but they also help with the child's weight, level of energy, working hard for their own goals, and finding more friends. The arts have similar effects when a child is able to paint the perfect flower garden or draw every line of a cartoon's face, they feel talented and unique; that they are able to do what other people can. By reading children can go to fantasy lands and use their imagination to develop the characters and anticipate the end of a story. They will realize that dreams can come true and life is more than TV and Video games. Not only does reading help a child's imagination but it builds their cognitive reasoning and brain cells that help them gain more intelligence as they are learning. If parents turned off the TV and games more often they would allow their children to invent, learn, and develop. With these types of accomplishments, a child doesn't need to continually hear how wonderful they are from their parents because they will already feel that themselves. They will know they are special and have many talents so when the school bully is making fun of them they will be more confident. Not to mention that when a child grows up their self-esteem will be very important in College and their future Career. Parents need to help this low self-esteem problem by getting their children involved in many outdoor and social activities as well as enabling them to play well on their own. If we allow our children to grow and be confident, there is no telling how much more wonderful our world can be!

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