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Assignment: Self-Esteem In Children
Assignment: Self-Esteem In Children
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In the US, a common worry of parents is whether their children have a high self-esteem. In the age of increased awareness of the ramifications of bullying behavior (physical, verbal, and relational-aggression), as well as increased competition it is no wonder parents are concerned. Aleksandar is a coordinator of athletic programs for Centervale. In the past, parents have insisted on participation trophies for all kids playing sports between the ages of 5 and 11. There is currently a debate in Centervale regarding whether participation trophies for everyone should continue through middle school as well. Some parents think it will help with self-esteem, while other parents recall never getting participation trophies when they were growing up and think losing can be a good lesson. Think about what you have learned in this module about physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development in middle childhood.
- What type of parenting style would lend itself well to creating a healthy self-esteem? Why?
- What would your recommendation be to the sports organizer who wonders if everyone should receive a trophy just for participating?
- What arguments can be made on both sides of the debate?
- Remember to support your responses by citing your weekly readings from the online notes and the textbook.
Write your initial response in 4–5 paragraphs. Support your statements with readings and research. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.
Children with learning disabilities may lose their self-esteem and confidence, especially in school; this lack of confidence may lead to poor performance, which creates a vicious cycle as school performance suffers. However, there are ways you can boost your child’s self-esteem and confidence in schoolwork.
Encourage Talent
Encourage your child’s natural talent and gifts. If your child is musically gifted, enroll him or her in the school band or musical.
Encouraging children to participate in activities they are naturally good at will give them a boost of self-confidence. For children, knowing they are good at something will also help them cope if they don’t do as well on an assignment in school.
Model Acceptance
As a parent, your child looks up to you and learns much of his or her behavior from you. Model the types of behavior you want to see in your children, especially acceptance of mistakes.
If you accept your mistakes and the mistakes of others, your child will do the same. Accepting one’s own mistakes grows self-esteem. When your child has an outburst or gets a poor grade, say, “I love you and I know you tried your best.”
Eliminate Comparisons
Children form their own identities and sense of self. By comparing children to someone else, even in a positive way, you are teaching them that their sense of self worth depends on how they’re doing compared to others.
You must teach your child to note his or her own progress and achievements without comparisons. Here are some ways you can replace or eliminate comparisons with other children:
- Instead of suggesting your child needs to set aside more study time that peers do to accommodate a learning disability, suggest that your child needs to study more than in previous school years.
- Instead of asking how your child did compared to the class, as
