SELF ESTEEM IN KIDS
Almost 90 percent of all visits to primary health care providers are due to emotions:
~ grief
~ anxiety
~ self-pity
~ bad luck
~ shame
~ humiliation
~ unhappy relationships
~ betrayal
~ low confidence
~ guilt
~ feeling stuck or held back
~ sadness
~ depression
~ frustration
~ unfulfilled dreams
~ loneliness
~ regret
Good self-esteem is important because it helps children to hold their heads high and feel proud of themselves and what they can accomplish in life. It gives children the courage to try new things and the power to believe in themselves. It lets them respect themselves even when they make mistakes.
Sometimes a child will have low self-esteem if his mother or father doesn’t encourage him enough or if there is a lot of yelling at home. Other times, a child’s self-esteem can be hurt in the classroom. A teacher may inadvertently make a child feel inadequate or perhaps there is a bully who says hurtful things. If this goes on for a period of time unchecked, a child can begin to believe in what others are saying.
Having good self-esteem and positive thoughts is also the ticket to having children make good choices about their mind and body. If they think they’re important, they’ll be less likely to follow the crowd if their friends are doing something inappropriate or dangerous. If they have good self-esteem, they’ll know that they’re smart enough to make their own decisions.
Most children can create a list of everything they do not like about themselves but have difficulty writing a list of their good qualities. Like many adults, they spend their days listening to an invisible but outspoken tape that plays negative statements in their head.
