We can all agree that it would be super cool if we could all raise kids with the confidence, passion and just raw talent of Amani G. For those not familiar with her, she’s the closest we’ve come to a Mariah Carey in Kenya. And she’s only 13. Sure, many kids won’t have to overcome as much adversity as she did given her background, but they all have to deal with some hard knocks, and it’s imperative that we equip them with enough confidence to not only survive, but thrive.
Use the following tips to raise cool kids with great confidence:
Thou shall love thy child unconditionally. This comes off as a bit too obvious, but it may just be the single most important thing you can give your little ones. No one said you have to get it perfect – who does? – just dish out a boatload of love. Unconditional love forms the basis and foundation for confidence.
Thou shall walk thy talk. With kids, it’s monkey see, monkey do. Parent must love thyself before thy teacheth thy child to love thyself! Reward and praise yourself when you do well. If you get a promotion at work, celebrate your successes with the kids. Use the celebration as a Trojan horse to deliver a far more important message; that it requires skill, talent and effort to achieve those fetes. So be sure to talk about those skills, talents and efforts while reminding the kids that they have their own unique repertoire that can be developed and used.
Thou shalt not retreat nor surrender. Teach them resilience. That not one person has ever enjoyed 100% success rate in everything they have done. Setbacks, failures, criticism, pain…all to be expected and an accepted part of the game. What was that chant we used to do as kids? Used to go something like “Try, try, try again…”. Whoever came up with it was on to something.
What are some of the things you do to instill confidence in your children?
