8 Easy Ways to Empower Your Children!
Even though I consider myself an Alpha female, I was not like that all my life. That empowerment came with trial and error, with mistakes and heartbreaks, with growth. After becoming a mom of twin girls, I immediately felt the need for them to become empowered females that will take on and rule the world.
With that being said, I decided to practice the art of empowering my children in simple ways which will also lead to boosting their self esteem.
Children are sensitive and have a peer group that can be quite harsh, so what we do at home matters tremendously. It’s vital that our children have a reserve of self-esteem and a positive foundation in place, that can survive the unpleasantness of other kids.
Here are 8 simple ways we can empower our kids to become happy and successful:
Love your child unconditionally. Every child should believe he is loved unconditionally. Every child should believe that no matter what mistake he makes or failure he suffers that he is still loved by his parents. Consider the impact it has on a child’s self-esteem when she believes she’s only loved when she behaves a certain way or achieves a certain result.
Encourage your child to follow their interests. Your child’s interests may not always be your interests but if your child loves to dance or play football then be as supportive and encouraging as you can. I know! This should go without saying!
Encourage persistence. Success and persistence go hand-in-hand. Find courage in your child to be persistent and you are showing him how to be successful. Praise your child when they stick with a difficult challenge. One way you can help your child is to set a good example. Show them what it means to persevere.
Give your child choices. It’s hard to have self-esteem or feel empowered when you don’t have any control over your life. Give your child choices to give them the feeling of control. This can be as simple as giving them two options for lunch or allowing them to choose what shoes they wear that day. My twin Valentina, who is very strong minded, taught me this one.
Discourage perfection. Discourage your child from attempting to be perfect. This is a game that no one can win. Your child’s self-esteem will suffer when they realize that they can never be perfect. Show your child that you value effort and progress. These are things that anyone can achieve.
Allow your child to take risks. Trust your child to explore their environment and this means taking risks. If possible, try to stop yourself reaching out (trust me, I am still learning this one). Trust your child to climb that tree, go down that big slide and swim a lap alone. Risking on purpose is important for your child to develop self-confidence. Hold yourself back, not your child, and allow them to explore their world.
Teach your children to have a Growth Mindset: A Growth mindset occurs when we believe our intelligence and abilities can be improved upon with effort and the right strategies. I have found a great resource that helped with this one and it certainly will help you. It’s called the Big Life Journal, the team from BLJ help kids develop a growth and resilient mindset so they can face life’s challenges with confidence. Check them out! We love them and now they have a podcast too!
Take good care of yourself. Take good care of yourself and you show your child that you are important. They will believe that they are important and should take care of themselves too. You can model how to make themselves a priority.
There’s no doubt that a child with high self-esteem is happier and more confident. We want the best for our children, so it’s our responsibility to give our children as much self-esteem as possible.
What we do at home can have a huge impact on our children’s future. Teach your children to love and believe in themselves, and they’ll reap the benefits throughout their lives.
I hope these tips help you! Please share this with anyone that can benefit from parenting tips and leave me your comments below!
XO, M
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Here is a list of resources I use to encourage my twins to be empowered:
Big Life journal, Rebel Girls Stories Podcast, Dream Big Podcast, Brains On, Affirmation Pod (episode 100), Educate Empower Kids, Educate to Empower Publishing
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