How To Help Your Kids Feel Confident as They Start a New School Year

The first day of school is often packed with nervous jitters. While kids get to see their friends again, it’s also a brand new environment that they’ll be placed in. New teachers, new classmates, new activities will all be things that they have to get used and navigate. To help your child feel their best and most confident at the start of the year, here are four methods and tips to consider.

Pep Talks

For many kids, confidence in themselves starts in the home. Teach your kids they are capable of being successful at school and in making new friends. Giving them the belief they can have a great school year will be one of the most important things you can do. Make sure you get to them before their schoolmates have the chance to jade their self-confidence and give them false beliefs about themselves. 

Build Their Self-Image

Having positive self-image is becoming increasingly difficult for kids and adults of all ages. Make sure your kids start young in forming a positive self-image. Be an example of self-love and respect for your body. Eating disorder treatment is becoming more necessary for girls at younger ages due to media influences. Be especially mindful of your girls and the way you talk about yourself in order to be an example of a healthy relationship with your body and food. Hating your body or physical appearance becomes learned behavior from schoolmates and media, so be aware of this as a parent. 

Family Dinners

Sometimes encouraging confidence in your kids is as simple as having dinners together. This provides them with the support that they can fall back on if they ever feel uncomfortable at school. Children with supportive parents are often more confident in school than those without. Family Meals also help you touch base with your child and determine any problems in their lives that you can help solve. With your encouragement and support, children will be more ready to face challenges and take risks with confidence

Therapy

Going to therapy gets a bad reputation when it shouldn’t. A child is never too young to benefit from therapy. With a therapist, they can understand themselves better. They can also talk to the therapist about issues that they might not be comfortable talking about with you. As they learn and understand themselves better, their confidence will also grow.

Instilling confidence in your child is vital for their survival in the adult world. So go ahead, help instill courage that first day. These tips can help you encourage your child to feel confident at school.

By Emma Sturgis