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15 Self-Confidence Builders for Children

Confidence is the key component to success. It’s a confidence that allows us to take risks, pursue our dreams and not let anything stand in our way. And confidence isn’t just for adults - it starts at a very young age and can have a big impact on how kids see themselves, their abilities, and what they might achieve as they grow up. 3 small children next to a whiteboard with arms crossed

So, how can we help to boost our kids’ confidence? Here are 15 fun and easy self-confidence-building activities for students aged 5-16:

1. Give them a voice

One of the best ways to boost confidence is to give kids a voice and let them share their thoughts and ideas.

Asking them open-ended questions and giving them the opportunity to express themselves allows them to feel heard and valued.

Feeling heard and valued is a strong foundation for confidence; one that will set our children up for life.

2. Help them set realistic goals

It’s important for kids to have goals, but it’s also important that these goals are realistic and achievable.

Helping them to set small, manageable goals allows them to feel a sense of accomplishment and builds confidence.

Small, manageable goals could look like this:

  • “I will read for 30 minutes every day this week”
  • “I will practice my multiplication tables for 10 minutes each day.”
  • "I'll make sure to get my homework done as soon as I get home from school".

Specific goals depend on the child; what matters is that they are achievable and help to build confidence.

3. Encourage them to take risks

One of the best ways to learn and grow is to take risks.

Encouraging our kids to take risks helps them to push themselves, learn from their mistakes and grow in confidence.

Risks, like goals, can be small (“I will try a new food today”) or big (“I will speak in front of the class”), but as long as they are manageable, they can be a great confidence booster.

Gently pushing your child out of their comfort zone can help them to grow in confidence, learn new things and become more resilient.

4. Help them stay positive

It can be tough to stay positive when things don’t go our way, but it’s essential for confidence.

Helping our kids to develop a “can-do” attitude and to focus on the positives will help them to stay positive when things get tough, not just in school but in life in general...

Being positive encourages kids to feel good about themselves and their abilities, which, in turn, builds confidence.

5. Let them know they are unique and special

All kids are unique and special in their own way, and it’s important for them to know this.

Telling our kids how special they do not only makes them feel good about themselves but also encourages them to be themselves, which is an essential part of confidence-building.

6. Help them see their unique strengths

Just as every child is special, every child also has their own unique strengths.

Helping our kids to identify and develop their strengths allows them to focus on what they are good at and builds confidence.

Some questions that might help kids identify their strengths are:

  • What do you like to do?
  • What can you do really well?
  • What makes you happy?

7. Help them find their passion

Finding your passion in life is a key ingredient for confidence.

When kids know what they are good at and what makes them happy, it gives them a strong foundation on which to build confidence.

Helping our kids to find their passion can be as simple as asking them questions about what they like to do and then helping them to explore these interests further.

8. Encourage them to take care of themselves

One of the best things we can do for confidence is to encourage our kids to take care of themselves.

This includes things like getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercising.

All of these things help our kids to feel good about themselves and their bodies, which in turn boosts confidence.

9. Help them stay organised

One of the best ways to feel confident is to know what we are dealing with.

Helping our kids to stay organized gives them a sense of control and confidence in their abilities.

This could look like helping them to develop a routine, setting up a homework station or organising their toys.

10. Help them learn to deal with failure

One of the biggest confidence killers is a failure, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Helping our kids to learn how to deal with failure in a positive way will help them to pick themselves up and try again, which is an essential part of confidence-building.

Some ways to help kids deal with failure are:

  • Help them see that failure is a normal part of life and everyone makes mistakes sometimes.
  • Encourage them to learn from their failures.
  • Help them to come up with a plan for what they will do the next time they face a challenge.

11. Let them make mistakes

Making mistakes is a natural and important part of learning.

As parents, we are conditioned to try to stop the "mistakes" before they happen, but this can actually have the opposite effect on confidence.

Helping our kids to understand that it’s okay to make mistakes and that they can learn from them will encourage them to take risks and be more daring, both of which are confidence boosters.

12. Help them develop a sense of humour

A sense of humour is a great confidence builder.

Laughing at ourselves helps us to take ourselves less seriously and lightens things up, both of which are confidence-boosting.

Encouraging our kids to develop a sense of humour will help them to see the funny side of life and will make it easier for them to laugh off their mistakes.

13. Help them be themselves

One of the most important things we can do for confidence is to encourage our kids to be themselves.

This means accepting them for who they are, quirks and all, and not trying to change them.

Helping our kids to feel good about being themselves is one of the best things we can do for their confidence.

2. Let them be in charge

Giving kids some control over their lives can also help to boost confidence.

Let them choose what they want to wear, what they want to eat, or what activities they want to do.

Allowing them that little bit of control over their own lives and choices, they get to see for themselves the direct impact that their decisions have; not everything is going to work out perfectly all of the time, and teaching our children how to deal with these hiccups without crumbling is definitely confidence-boosting.

15. Help them feel supported

One of the most important things for confidence is feeling supported.

This could be from family and friends, or from an adult in their lives that they trust and look up to.

Helping our kids to feel supported will help them to feel more confident both in themselves and their abilities.

Wrapping Up

Building self-confidence in children can help them overcome obstacles and achieve their goals.

By providing your child with a variety of activities that promote confidence, you can help them grow into successful adults.

What activity will you try with your child today to help boost their confidence?

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