Category Archives: Confidence

Confidence, Motivation, Self-Esteem, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

How to Help Children Build Self-Confidence

Tony Buchanan, guest contributor

When children are struggling in school, frustration that results from such failures can be overwhelming and daunting especially to the young children. Research has shown that children develop their self-confidence through their achievements. As children accomplish these achievements, they feel more capable, competent, and ready to do more. Success breeds more success in them. Alternatively, a string of failures can lead to erosion of self-confidence and loss of self-esteem and this can lead to failure in other aspects of life.

Thankfully, private tutors can help children with specific academic issues and provide remedial instructions which go a long way in helping your child regain academic excellence and in the long run self-confidence in other tasks.

Below is a peek as to some of the benefits of having a tutor support your child especially in education matters.



Helps Your Child Do Better in School

While tutors rarely have interaction with the child at school, private tutors such as Tutoring for Excellence, can benefit the child to helping him/her achieve academic success. Beyond assisting the child with hard topics, a private tutor can motivate a child to achieve in the classroom. This is due to the fact that the child receives positive reinforcements from the tutor who portrays the image of a role-model to the child. Children also acquire better learning habits and study skills that interpret to good grades in the long run.


Increases the Child’s self-esteem and self-confidence

Academic success attained in school adds up to become a spiral of success in other areas of life. This success strings breeds self-confidence and self-esteem. A high self-esteem is vital to a child’s life. The more confident the child become, the better they become at forming healthy relationships with their parent/caregivers, teachers and peers. These relationships so formed help in ensuring that the child maintains a positive and a healthy lifestyle.


Redefines the importance of education

Tutoring helps the child to keep a positive attitude towards school. The moment the child sees that their parents, teachers and tutors view education as important; they will appreciate the value of education and view it as important. This in turn translates to better grades at school and thus self-confidence.

 

Importance of teachers, parents and tutors in this process

However, the task of building a child’s self-confidence through education can be a futile task if all the work is left to the tutor. Parents, teachers, and caregivers are also instrumental in building self-confidence and providing a strong support system. Children view them as their champions and thus it is important for them to help strengthen each child’s sense of self, as it serves to protect the child.

Research has shown that, by all the parties being a child’s champion, this serves to boost a child’s protective factors which are crucial in helping the child to resist peer pressures to engage in risky behaviours such as drug abuse and sexual activities. Additionally, these protective factors also determine the child’s relationships with others as well as their success in school.
Simply put, whatever your child’s challenges might be, a qualified tutor can help him/her to overcome learning obstacles and develop self-confidence by serving as a mentor and a guide to your child.

——

Tony Buchanan is a passionate blogger, freelance writer and a regular contributor to several blogs. He loves reading news and sharing unique articles through his contents. When Tony is not working, he enjoys music, camping and spending time with his family.

Confidence, Motivation, Self-Esteem, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

4 Ways to Increase Your Child’s Confidence

By Lauren Tessin, Guest contributor

When it comes to children, they have a mind of their own.  Like anyone, they all have different personalities and have had different life experiences to help shape their personality.  Although there are many different traits we would like to see our children have, confidence is one of the most important.

Without confidence, life can be tough and seem against you no matter what.  However, with a little confidence, we can get farther in life and be a happier individual overall.  So, how can you make sure your children has confidence?  Continue reading below to find out!

Praise them

When your child does something good, be sure to praise them.  From getting an “A” on his or her spelling test to getting an award for being the best classroom helper, praise your child.  When you praise your child, they feel good about what they have done, and it will encourage them to repeat that same behavior that got them to be praised.

Encourage them

If your child is feeling less than confident, be sure to encourage him or her.  For example, if your child is nervous about his or her exam or riding the bus for the first day of school, encourage them to have confidence.  By saying things like, “I know it may seem intimidating, but you will do just fine.  What is the worst that can happen?”  You are showing that you understand where they are coming from, but also reminding them that they will be fine in whatever they do.  Encourage bad thoughts to leave their head and replace those bad thoughts with positive and realistic ones.

Don’t let them give up

Do you find that your child wants to give up easily when it comes to certain things?  If so, don’t let them give up.  Once you do, you are showing them that it is okay to not try their hardest.  You may even give them the signal that they may not be able to do it after all, so they should just quit now.  Be persistent and keep pushing your child to his or her goals.  Once they see that they can do it on their own, they will remember that next time they struggle with something.

Be a role model

In order for your child to have confidence, you must show how confident you are.  For example, next time you’re afraid to do something or you want to knock yourself for not being talented in a certain area, be sure to avoid those thoughts and to display the opposite.  By saying things like, “I’m not the best at basketball, but I can try my best to help you practice for today’s game” you can show your child that you are willing to try anything.

As you can see, there are plenty of things you can do in order to increase your child’s confidence.  From praising them for their achievements to being a good role model, shaping your child’s personality really does start with you.  As a parent, you can help set your child up for failure or success just by how you parent.  Parent wisely!

——

If ever you have the question how much does it cost?, HowMuchIsIt.org can help you answer that.

Confidence, Self-Esteem, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

Boost Your Child’s Confidence

Although we sometimes talk about confidence as something that a person “has,” confidence actually involves a very specific set of behaviors.

Identifying these traits as desirable is the first step. Children need a clear set of expectations that they understand are important and know they must follow.

To help them recognize the importance of the goal, these qualities must first be labeled as positive.

Let’s take good posture, for example. In martial arts class the instructor would say, “Black belts have their backs straight and chests out. You do want to become a black belt, don’t you?”

Or, “I know you are good looking, so let’s accentuate it!”

Or, even point out the negative: “When you’re slouching like that your posture looks so weak and I know that’s not case. You are a strong person, so back straight and chest out. Go!”

Stating the issue, explaining its importance and giving children a clear directive will help children understand the link — in this case, that standing up straight makes them project the look of confidence.

Confidence, Self-Esteem, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

Why It Hurts to Be Shy

Children who are quiet and unassertive find it difficult to interact with both peers and adults. They can find themselves overlooked in both school and social settings.

To “break out of their shells,” they must learn to build friendships and gain leadership skills – both essential qualities for personal development.

If your child is shy, it might be hard to imagine him or her putting on a uniform, stepping onto the mat and learning martial arts.

Martial arts instructors understand this fear and can turn such experiences into powerful lessons of empowerment.

Martial arts instructors undergo extensive training. They know how to build an excellent rapport by offering plenty of praise and encouragement.

It is their job to bring out the best in every child.

Children respond well to this positive encouragement, where they can learn and overcome the barrier of shyness. They learn not only martial arts, but role playing activities discuss issues such as how to look an adult in the eye, hold a conversation and offer a firm handshake.

This is confidence that shows – and it’s how we define a good attitude. These are the life skills children take home with every lesson.

Confidence, Self-Esteem, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

Growing Stronger Character

What does it mean to grow strong character?
In general, the term character, as applied to a person, is represented by the values and qualities that make us who we are, that shape our attitudes and behaviors.
So, when we say that someone has a strong character, we mean that they are demonstrating some combination of the following positive traits that make them good friends, citizens and family members:
  • Honesty – with themselves and with others at all times
  • Fairness – in all dealings with others, even when it means self-sacrifice
  • Self-discipline – able to set goals for themselves and meet them with persistence and good humor
  • Responsibility – willing to take responsibility for their behavior and follow through with their commitments
  • Courage – willing to stand up for ones own beliefs and in the defense of others
  • Respect – for oneself, their own beliefs and the beliefs and standards of others
  • Compassion – for all people and other living things including empathy for the feelings of others
  • Good citizenship – civic pride, a willingness to demonstrate community service and concern

As parents, we can help our children to develop the attributes that help build good character by setting limits, having realistic expectations and providing them with opportunities to build good values.

Confidence, Self-Esteem, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

Small Acts, Big Goals Build Confidence

It is our experience in our martial arts schools that when we start to build a child’s confidence, his or her self-assuredness builds and gains momentum.

The best way to start your child on this path upward is to start by giving him or her small, relatively attainable goals.

For example, in the beginning, we give children very easy kicking techniques to master. The first few belts in our school are relatively easy to attain.

We do not make the bar high in the beginning because we want the children to build positive momentum, to give them confidence in their ability to learn martial arts.

As they are learning techniques, they earn stripes and rewards for accomplishing their goals. As they progress, they are invited to test for their next color belt.

Parents can incorporate this principle at home by not demanding much in the beginning. Build up to it and the children will naturally be confident to take on harder challenges.

Try this: Have your child do the easiest homework assignments first. Celebrate this accomplishment. Then move on to the more difficult tasks, so they can tackle the challenges with greater confidence.

Confidence, Self-Esteem, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

The Look of Confidence

How do you describe confidence? There are some definite physical qualities involved in projecting the look of confidence. These qualities include:

* Great posture
* Good eye contact
* A loud and clear voice

Eye contact:
In our martial arts classes we demand that our students look us in the eye when we are talking to them. If a child looks away, the teacher stops talking and remind him or her to maintain eye contact.

Or, the instructor make light of it and says, “That must have been a good-looking boy (or girl) who just walked past!”

If the problem persists, we mirror the behavior and say, “Imagine if I was talking to you and I kept looking away like this (talk, keeping eyes on the ground). Funny, isn’t it? So let’s not do it.”

Loud and clear voice:
We tell our students all the time, “You are what you sound like!”

When student are asked their names, our students know to respond loudly. They say, for example, “Scott, Sir!”

“Here’s why: A martial art student and future Black Belt sounds like a leader, loud and clear.

If a student mutters and doesn’t answer with enough gusto, we ask them:

“Do you want to be a leader and a Black Belt?”

Of course, the student responds with a yes.

We tell them to introduce themselves again, until they sound like a leader.

Good posture:
In martial arts class the instructor would say:

“Black belts have their backs straight and chests out. You do want to become a black belt, don’t you?”

Or,

“I know you are good looking, so let’s accentuate it!”

Or, even point out the negative:

“When you’re slouching like that your posture looks so weak and I know that’s not case. You are a strong person, so back straight and chest out. Go!”

We give students very specific directions of how to look and sound confident. That way, they can begin to sound confident and believe in themselves. It is an important step in helping children build self-confidence.

Confidence, Self-Esteem, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

Self Confidence

A child with good self confidence is easy to spot in a crowd. He or she possesses a bright, engaging smile and a positive attitude. Effortlessly, this child makes friends and accepts leadership opportunities.

Timid and shy children, however, are too often relegated to the sidelines. For these children, the problems start small, a child who can’t interact with his or her peers or won’t look an adult in the eye.

But as a child grows these problems do, too – and before long this child is the target of bullies, prone to peer pressure and withdrawn in the classroom. Kids like this are called “painfully shy” for good reason.

A child with self-confidence problems needs to improve his or her self-esteem. Here are some of characteristics of a child with low self-esteem:

  • Timid and shy
  • Loner, not a leader
  • Bully magnet
  • Fear of failure
  • Peer pressure

Martial arts can help a child’s confidence grow. Martial arts provide positive experiences for children, and offers tangible goals and rewards that help them stay focused and self-assured.

Confidence, Self-Esteem, SYN Digital Enrollment Director

Turning Loners Into Leaders

Why do some children shy away from participating in activities? It’s certainly not because they lack the ability to kick a ball or skills to raise their hand in class.

Shyness and a lack of self confidence force children onto the sidelines and away from the action.

Children who fail to participate in activities do not allow their skills to develop, further lowering their self-esteem and insecurity.

Yet we all want our children to become leaders. But how exactly can we get it done?

Few of us are natural born leaders; it is a skill that must be learned through experience. The essential key, then, is to give a child the opportunity to become a leader.

Helping around the house and volunteering in the community are some places to start. As they master tasks and chores, their responsibility will also grow.

Martial arts encourage children to overcome shyness, with the ultimate goal of becoming leaders. We motivate through praise and positive reinforcement. Children advance at through the ranks at their own pace.

Children are encouraged to work with fellow students of lower rank, helping them with technique. Before they know it, these children are leading some of the exercises and assisting in other classes.

Bit by bit, they are gaining confidence. Bit by bit, they are becoming leaders.

Children who are not encouraged to build this leadership skill lose out on this powerful opportunity.