Children, adolescents, and young adults generally experience some sort of self esteem issues during the advancement to adulthood. This problem seems to be magnified in girls rather than boys. There are many possible reasons why this seems to be the case, including developmental hormones, different social relationships in girls, and certain other gender pressures that add to the problem. If you are a parent of a young girl, you may want to consider her quality of self esteem and work towards reinforcing or boosting your child’s self esteem early on in her development.
There are many resources available to you when looking in to boosting your child’s self esteem. Different websites contain information about the development of young girls and how possessing low self esteem can potentially be detrimental to their development. Also, you will be able to contact different parents or guardians in the same situations as yourself. Consider trading tips or stories with these other friends who share your same goal concerning their own female child. Also, your local library is an excellent resource for information on this topic. Check out the sections devoted to parenting, development, and the social situations with girls to gain a better understanding of this problem and how not providing a potential solution can be extremely negative to your child. Furthermore, your local bookstore has a phenomenal selection of books that are sure to answer all your questions about the impact of your daughter’s self esteem.
By far the best way to better instil the importance of high self esteem in girls is to lead by example. If your daughter sees you suffering from low self esteem or constantly causing another individual to suffer from low self esteem, any lessons you may be able to provide will be lost. Most importantly, be sure to never berate, insult, or intimidate your daughter, which can potentially cause serious developmental problems that can surface later on in her life. Many girls who suffer mental anguish, teasing, hazing, or bullying have remarkably low levels of self esteem and are often timid, unsure, and hesitant when dealing with other individuals. This problem can pass on into adulthood as the scars of childhood issues make a lasting impact on their self esteem.
Consider speaking with other parents of your daughter’s friends or classmates in order to come up with clever ways to impact the children’s self esteem. Include discussions about self esteem in your daily life. Encourage your children to read books that put a positive light on growing up and whose main characters are strong and capable girls. Encourage your daughter in all aspects of her life, scholastic, athletic, social, and extracurricular. Sit down with your daughter and write down a set of goals for both you and her to accomplish. When one of these goals is accomplished, be sure to celebrate this marker, no matter how small. Whatever you decide to do with your daughter, your participation in her life is sure to positively affect her self esteem, in addition to many other factors.