Spoiler alert: raising your child’s self-esteem starts with YOU as the parent! While some children are born with an “alpha” attitude, other children may need a little more support in raising their self-esteem. There are several methods and techniques which can help parents achieve this, but we are covering only one in this article.
In life, there are going to be times when our emotions get the best of us. Humans are emotional creatures and I’ve never met a single person who likes being rejected or told “no.” But some people handle rejection and criticism better than others.
Typically, people employed in sales positions handle a great deal of rejection on a week-by-week basis. Many successful salespeople have high self-esteem because they don’t let it get to them. So how can we, as parents, teach our children to have high self-esteem? This is topic is something the teachers and management of Little Human Scholars School in PJ strive for every day.
How to Raise Your Child’s Self-Esteem
The process of emotional mastery is a topic that can take a lifetime to learn but teaching your children early on can set them up for success later on in life while simultaneously supporting them in raising their self-esteem.
The Benefits of Emotional Mastery for Higher Self-Esteem
There are many benefits to emotional mastery. For one, your child learns to use their words to communicate instead of reacting emotionally. Teaching your child from a young age to respond and be mindful of their emotions is powerful.
Everyone has the power to express their emotions in a way that isn’t emotional. While it may take some time to learn and utilise the benefits of it in the long term are worth the effort now.
- It helps them set up healthy boundaries with their friends and peers.
- This helps them with emotional mastery – this can come in handy in their careers when dealing with others.
- Responding to a situation rather than reacting can give them more confidence in handling tricky matters.
- It teaches children to think creatively and use their words instead of using actions or emotions.
- It teaches children something called “nonviolent communication.”
How to Teach Your Child Emotional Mastery for Higher Self-Esteem
Getting your child to be more confident and vocal really starts with the parents. How are you and your spouse at home? If there is an upset between you both, do you start insulting each other’s character, or do you work it out? Do you walk away and take a few minutes when you notice your emotions are high? Children have a tendency of mimicking their parents – how you are in uncomfortable and emotional situations strongly influences how your children will be in emotional situations. Essentially, supporting your child to have higher self-esteem starts with you!
How to Practice Emotional Mastery
Again, this isn’t something you learn overnight. It can take years of practice. One sure-fire way you can start practicing emotional mastering is by partaking in a nonviolent communication class. There are several in Petaling Jaya, and we highly recommend it! Here is what the teachers and staff at Little Human Scholars practice:
When emotions are rising, take a break.
When you notice you or the other person/people getting heated, you can agree to take a breather for 10 or 15 minutes or however long it takes to calm down. Then come back and try talking it out again. If that doesn’t work, finding a neutral 3rd party to mediate the situation may be in both parties’ best interest.
Use your words and come from “I.”
It’s easy to blame someone else for your emotions but coming from a space of “I” is powerful. Instead of saying, “Why would you do that? I am so angry with you!” Try, “I felt frustrated when I observed this behaviour in you. It made me feel like you did it purposefully to hurt me. Did you do it purposefully to hurt me, and if so, why?” This helps prevent the unconstructive act of blaming another for your life experience. Blaming other people gets you nowhere. Taking responsibility for your part in the result is incredibly powerful.
Remember that you can either be right, or you can be happy.
Most people love being the “right” party but being right doesn’t always mean the issue is solved and it isn’t always the best for everyone involved. Making the other person wrong just so you feel good about yourself and you felt like you’ve won isn’t healthy. What is the bigger picture? What is it you want to achieve? Stick to THAT instead of merely wanting to be right.
Commit to solving the issue instead of attacking the other person.
This really only works if both parties agree to do this. If the other person is committed to hurting you or “winning,” you won’t be able to solve the issue peacefully. You may need a third a party to intervene.
Again, this is something we strive to do at Little Human Scholars School in PJ, and in the long term, teaching your child to respond instead of react to a situation supports your child to be more confident and vocal in the long term!
About Little Human Scholars School in PJ
Little Human Scholars is an all-in-one childcare solution. It is a preschool, playschool, kindergarten, nursery and full day daycare centre (with extended hours) located in the heart of PJ.
In fact, the location is one of the things which makes Little Human Scholars so sought after – it is conveniently nestled near Jalan Gasing, University hospital, PJ Old town, PJ New town, Jaya One, Jaya33, and the PJ IT Mall.
The best part is LHS has premiere services many other schools in PJ don’t offer such as full-day daycare with extended hours, CCTV access for parents, and a nifty little phone app called Toddlytic which provides parents with automatic updates on their child’s development, behaviour and health checks.
With full-time guards always present at each of their locations, access to CCTV (which is in every room except the office, bathroom and kitchen areas), and very strict pick-up and drop-off rules, Little Human Scholars treats every child who walks into its hallways as one of their own children!
This place has it all: location, safety, health, IGSCE curriculum and play-based learning. What more could you ask for? Did I mention they also have transportation services and offer meal plans for students? It doesn’t get any better than that.
If you are interested in a tour of one of our centres (that’s right, there’s more than one), all you need to do is fill out the form here or call +6017-7303-025 and an LHS administrative staff will get back with you shortly!
Cheers,
Jana Moreno