Teenagers are often faced with some tough issues and that includes things like their personal appearance, who their friends are and how well they do in school. As parents, we want our children to feel good about their self-worth. When they feel good about who they are, it helps them achieve success in their lives. Here are some ways that you can help boost confidence and self-esteem in your teenager.
Encourage them to develop talents and interests
Everyone is good at something, while at the same time, everyone needs to be able to excel at something. So, it is important that you allow them to develop whatever talents or interest they have. As long as their talents or interests don’t interfere with school life, supporting these decisions can help them to explore their self-identity and boost their self-esteem.
Praise them for positive things they accomplish
There are so many times that we are quick to point out the things our teenagers don’t do or don’t do right. It is important to pay attention to the positive things they accomplish and praise them for those accomplishments. It is important that you not only praise accomplishments, but efforts as well. If your teen did well at today’s swim meet, you can praise that accomplishment, but you can also praise them if they have been trying to find an after-school job but haven’t quite landed one yet.
Avoid ridicule or shame criticism
As parents, we sometimes need to criticize something our teenager does that is not appropriate. However, when doing so, it is important not to direct the criticism towards them directly since they could result in ridicule or shame. Instead of saying something like “Why do you have to be such a lazy slob?” instead say something along the lines of “I would like for you to keep your clothes in your dresser drawers instead of on the floor.”
Avoid over-praising them
While it is good to praise your teen, you want to avoid over-praising them. By over-praising them, what you are essentially doing is discouraging them from achieving higher. For instance, if you constantly tell your teenager how well they are doing in school, it is essentially telling them that what they are doing is good enough and they don’t need to push themselves to achieve any higher.
