Activities to build self-esteem in kids ~ Tip 8
Posted by: Sue Atkins
Keep a child – friendly home
If your children spend most of their time in other people’s houses, you’re lucky; if they all congregate at your house, you’re blessed
~Mignon McLaughlin
One simple way to build your child’s self esteem is to make your home inviting to your child’s friends.
Yes, you will have more mess to clean up, but it will be worth it to see the smile on your child’s face and of course they can always help you.J
Having a happy, relaxed, open home helps to show your child that you value and respect their friendships and learning to build friendships is one of the ways children develop into well-rounded, emotionally healthy human beings so by simply inviting friends round to play you are nurturing their self esteem.
Help your children understand what it takes to make and keep a good friend. Talk about your friends, read books about friendships and get chatting around the whole subject to teach your child the social skills involved in nurturing a friendship.
Simple tips.
Play dates also offer your child a starting place to explore friendship so keep play dates small. Start by inviting only one or two friends to your house at a time.
Keep play dates short. Between one and two hours is plenty for young children; you don’t want to overwhelm them because that’s when things can go wrong with tears and tiredness.
Plan ahead. Guide the play date around games and activities your child enjoys and is good at, as this will help them relax and help to keep them feeling good about themselves
Get involved. Don’t just leave your kids to play by themselves and hope for the best. Your guidance can make them feel more at ease with each other, especially if they are new friends. Make yourself available in case they run into conflicts, get distracted or fall out and stop playing together, or they need a change of activity or a period of time to calm down! If you are keeping a gentle eye out on the situation you can guide, nurture and nudge them in the right direction making sure the play date is a happy one.
