Confidence builders are important now and again to make a child's life easier. It could be a small pat on the back or something more significant. Here's a list we made of six easy confidence builders to help your child's self-esteem. 

Focus on what they’re good at

Children need to be given encouragement and positive recognition when they improve on certain skills. Some children are great at sports and others can read and write incredibly well. Whichever it might be, if an infant has a skill they excel at, keep encouraging them and letting them know how excellent they are? These confidence builders will help them with their self-image and will spur them to try out new activities. 

Is your child's special skill their incredible memory? Practice makes perfect! Keep their mind sharp by playing Memory Match together. 

Make decisions and take responsibilities 

It could be a project, a household chore or a task that your child may deem important. Give children a chance to control something that affects other people. Let them succeed in it and they will value the responsibility and make it their own. A great example is walking the dog or feeding pets. They will feel a sense of self-appreciation,  achievement and importance at looking after others and with this pride they will be sure to want to talk all about it giving you an opportunity to share positive reinforcement. 

Want to show your kid an example? Check out how Kebo the dog is looked after in our Playing with Pets episode from Are You Ready. 

Embrace and deal with failure 

Not all situations are confidence builders! Falling down and getting back up is all part of learning and improving. Children who do not learn that this is a common occurrence are more likely to shy away from trying new things and may become introverted. A very good way to show your little one that failure is not a bad thing is to show them a way you may have failed. If they can relate failure and then success to one of their main role models, it will reassure them that you can bounce back from a bad fall. 

See how Gugu deals with being slow! He doesn’t become disgruntled or sad because he is a winner in his own way.

Find role models who are confidence builders with good values

Children’s role models could be their friends, teachers, even television characters. If a child is shy, their role model will likely be extremely confident and outgoing; the kind of person they want to be. The most important thing is to ensure that whoever their role model is, they must be a positive influence on your child, demonstrating the values of a good citizen and friend. 

Our Let’s Go To Work series is a great place to explore all different jobs and the people you will meet there. Could these people be your little one’s next role model? 

Encourage expression of emotions and self-appreciation 

An introverted child is less likely to speak freely their feelings. Creating a safe, warm and positive environment away from any judgment or ridicule is a great way to begin the process of making them feel they can speak their mind. Observe how they interact with their friends and family members and vice versa. Do their friends treat them kindly? Are their siblings teasing them? These kinds of interactions will hinder any progress you wish to make. Ensure that your little one knows that friends should be kind and that siblings should be more considerate too. 

Misho and Robin’s episode A New Friend shows children how they should treat each other if they want to be a true friend.

Push their adventurous side 

To begin with, small steps are always a wise idea. Introduce them to a new sport by explaining it to them, simply playing a game or trying to teach it to them when it's just the two of you. There is nothing worse than having a sport or hobby pushed onto you when you are unsure of yourself. If they begin to show enthusiasm for this or another kind of activity, then it is important to encourage them and support them. For loads of other great ideas and inspiration for fun and active new hobbies to begin, check out our Get Active collection in the Curious World app. 

For more ideas on how to bring children out of their shells click here. 

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