by Pennee Struckman

Created on: July 17, 2009   Last Updated: July 20, 2009

Self-confidence and self esteem go hand in hand. Creating self-confidence in your child begins with consistent, responsive attention to the child's needs. When your baby cries or expresses the need for attention, pay attention to him. This action conveys to the child that he or she is important.

As the first step, practice Attachment Parenting.

Parents are caregivers and teachers. How a parent responds to a child, the words they use, and the support they give create an atmosphere where the child can develop self-confidence. Children begin to learn as soon as they are born. They pick up cues from the parents in a non-verbal way, and these cues form the blocks of building who the child is in relation to the world, which, to a baby or small child, is the primary caregiver.

Hold and touch your child often. When they are babies, the sense of security is enhanced by touch and by holding. As your child grows, continue to touch and hug them. The contact that comes with the gentle touch or hug re enforces a parent's love and connection with the child.

Make Eye contact with your child

When you are holding your baby or speaking with your child, make frequent eye contact. In western society, when someone looks directly into the eyes of the speaker, it denotes interest. When you let your child know you are interested in what hr or she is saying, it conveys that the child is important, and has ideas to contribute.

Be interested in what your child is doing

As your toddler grows, pay attention to the talents that are developing. If a young child is musical, or display a love of dance, enroll the child in a music or dance program. By enabling your child to experience things he or she is good at, your will build their self-confidence. Your child will also perceive the simple act of noticing as positive, and will develop a sense of importance and self esteem, which is essential to self confidence

As your child grows, be the biggest fan.

Have you heard of B.F. Skinner's Discovery of Shaping? In his experiment, Skinner used positive reinforcement to teach pigeons to bowl. Concisely, B.F.Skinner rewarded every positive step towards the goal.

The parent is the teacher, equipping the child with self-esteem and self-confidence. By noticing your child, paying attention to his or her ques, and giving positive feedback verbally and non-verbally the parent will positively affect the child's self-confidence.

Building self-confidence in your child is about understanding your child's nature, and accepting it. Look for the areas of interest your child displays, and develop them. Even when your child fails, be supportive. Let the child know that failure is part of learning, and by learning from the failure, he or she can master the task.

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