Encourage Tweens to Value Their Skills
You can build self-esteem by emphasizing the importance of your tween’s talents. For example, say you and your family prize academics and disregard athletics. It just so happens, though, that your child is great at basketball but weak in the classroom. This can lead to a sense of low self-esteem because he or she is not good at “what matters.” So make athletics (or whatever the skill set is) count! Note that you don’t have to devalue academics in order to value athletics; you can simply make them more even in importance.
Listen and Pay Attention
We already know the greatest gift we can give our children is time and undivided attention. This fact is especially true in relation to building self-esteem. Listening does not have to occur in huge quantities to be effective. Even ten minutes of true attention is worth more than three hours of being “together” but never really focusing on what your tween is saying. Being a good listener means not offering judgments, criticisms or even advice. Simply hear what your child is saying and restate his or her comments to show that you’re listening. For example, if your tween is talking about his teacher and friends being stuck in their own problems, you might say, “You feel like no one at school cares.” It might seem hokey at first, but regular, reflective listening sessions can help a child feel validated and worthwhile.
Encourage Additional Sources of Support
Listening sessions with parents are invaluable, but tweens often need more attention, validation, and support that we’re able to give. Plus, it’s healthy to encourage your children to rely on others besides yourself. Therefore you can build self-esteem by encouraging supportive, meaningful relationships if you see these beginning to take shape. Ideally, these would be adult relationships, such as with a coach, teacher or religious figure, but supportive peer relationships can also be helpful.
Let Them Fail
Resilience in the face of failure may help reduce the risk of anxiety and depression and children may need to learn how to deal with failure but not avoid it. People gain a sense of competence by taking on new challenges and succeeding in them. If you discourage failure, you discourage your child from trying new things. Tweens learn resilience and coping skills when they face problems. Even better, when they reach the goal they’ve been seeking, they gain a sense of genuine ownership and capability.
Be a Good Model
Tweens learn to have healthy self-esteem by watching adults around them demonstrate healthy self-esteem. Therefore, consider how frequently you make belittling comments about yourself like “I’m fat” or “I’ll never amount to anything.” As much as you may tell your child that she’s wonderful and can do anything, she’s learning more by your actions than by your words. Therefore, working to raise your own self-esteem can directly benefit your child. This is, of course, a long process in itself. In the meantime, though, you can concentrate on catching and decreasing your negative self-comments. Not only will you feel better, but your tween probably will, too.
