Every parent wants to give their child the best life they can possibly have. Sometime shyness can hold children back and may cause them to withdraw into themselves. There are some things you can do to try and increase the confidence of your child, making them happier when they are around groups of people.
Bravery
Sometimes your child may just need to be a bit braver when it comes to boosting their confidence. Perhaps they tend to hold back a bit when interacting with other children; or maybe they don’t feel as comfortable in larger groups. Telling your child to be brave and make an effort to talk to everyone at least once could be all they need to get them speaking up and enjoying themselves.
Teamwork
When children work together, there can often be a power struggle between the stronger personalities in the group. Encourage your child to listen to all of the opinions available before making up their own mind. This will help them to consider different attitudes, as well as giving other children the opportunity to speak. By allowing your child to work as part of a team, they will understand how to negotiate and take on other views, as well as their own.
Stage school
If your child has a flare for drama or another performing art, it may be worth enrolling them into a UK stage school for dancing and singing like Stagecoach. These schools will help to hone the skills that your child may already have, as well as teaching them a whole host of new ones. They can help to boost the confidence of children in a big way, as they will perform to an audience. While this can be daunting at first for some children, many overcome the fear and actually enjoy being on the stage. The skills they learn follow them into adulthood, giving them the ability to command the attention of a room, as well as being comfortable if they are the centre of attention.
Talent
Your child may have a unique talent that could be the key to unlocking their confidence. If they show a particular flair for something, encourage them to pursue it further. For example, perhaps they have a nice singing voice; get them to join the school choir and perhaps invest in some additional singing lessons. Being told that they are talented and good at something can do wonders for the confidence of children. If they think someone believes in them, it can help them to feel more relaxed and sure that they are special and unique.
Practice
If your child wants to become good at something, more often than not, they will need to practice at it. Explaining to your child how they need to work on something to get better at it can be useful – potentially fueling their pursuit of an activity or hobby. Get them to make a record of their progress so they can see how far they have come. Having a visual aid can be a huge confidence-booster as the child will feel a sense of achievement when they can see it in front of them.
Lauren Sutton is a UK-based journalist living on the south coast of Hampshire, UK. She used to be an active dancer as a child and still loves to give her own confidence a boost by dancing when out with friends.
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Good post! One thing is to take whatever your kid is doing seriously. If a child likes a certain line of toys, use that as an opportunity to talk about collecting, building a collection. Taking him seriously–even as a young child–helps him to think of himself as an important person.
Good tips. I think sometimes it is just part of “Who” they are from the get go. My daughter has been shy from the moment she was born. When she is with her friends she is so loud it is unreal. When she is at school she is so quite that the teacher has to call on her most of the time. But she will stand up to anyone if she sees any bullying or anything that shouldn’t be happening. I think she get the quite part from her father. I am a little more chatty. 🙂 LOL
I enjoyed this post. There really are so many ways you can boost your child’s confidence. I know its important to find things they can be successful with. You wouldn’t want to put your kid in a sport they are miserable in, it’s better to find one they are good at.
My great-niece is so shy it makes me sad sometimes. I didn’t ever think that she was going to come out of her shell when she was around me. I love spending time with her so much that I would cry because she would hide behind my sister and not want to come near me. But without even realizing it, I started doing some of the things mentioned here. I also made sure to have things she like to do, crafts and such, at the ready to do with her. It took time but now she can’t wait to visit or talk on the phone to “Aunt Rotten”!
Thanks for the comments everyone. Lovely to see we all agree that confidence can come from lots of different areas (particularly ones they excel in, like the arts/dance/crafts etc as Robin mentioned).
Hope to discuss these themes further with you all in another guest post here on RitaReviews soon!
Lx