6 Effective Ways To Make Children Confident With Their Ability

Illustration of effective ways to make children confident in their abilities (Freepik/jcomp)

YOGYAKARTA As a parent, you have an important role in shaping your child's confidence. It's not just about excessive praise, but subtle but meaningful daily actions so that your child feels smart and believes in himself. With a caring and understanding approach, you can help your child recognize their potential and explore their abilities without being limited to stereotypes. Here are six things that you can apply to make your child grow more confident and feel competent.

Often parents are unconsciously trapped in gender stereotypes. For example, think that boys are less proficient in verbal or girls less likely to be in the STEM (Scient, Technology, Engineering/Engeineering, and Mathematics) field. Whereas research shows that verbal and systematic abilities in boys and girls are not much different. Avoiding assumptions like this opens up space for children to grow according to their interests and abilities without being limited by the early perceptions of adults.

There are cases where teachers, especially female teachers in mathematics subjects, bring their own anxiety into the teaching process, which then has an impact on the achievements and beliefs of girls in mathematics. However, parents have a role to play in filling' these negative influences by helping their children understand that they are capable in that field even though teachers show concern. With parental support, children can avoid stereotypical effects that minimize their potential.

Converging with children expressively, or using sentences rich in meaning, emotion, and open questions, helps children develop language skills, reflective thinking, and self-confidence in communicating. Even boys who are sometimes limited by the assumption that they are less verbal can also benefit from meaningful and expressive language. Citing YourTango, Monday, October 27, with rich and expressive speech habits, you can stimulate your child's verbal skills from an early age and support the development of their communication holistically.

One of the most effective ways for children to feel competent is to support their interests and curiosity from an early age. If children are interested in science, mathematics, or the visual/spatial field, encourage them through educational toys or relevant activities so that these interests grow positively. This support helps children believe that they can indeed develop in this field, without being limited by stereotypes that certain fields are not for girls or boys.

Sometimes parents unconsciously underestimate the abilities of children, especially girls, assuming that they are not able to do 'risky' or challenging activities. In fact, research shows that boys and girls are actually equally brave in facing challenges, if given the right opportunity. By not underestimating, you give your children space to try new things, take a reasonable risk, and learn from experience, so that their confidence grows with their ability to develop.

Boys and girls both have the potential to be full of empathy and care for their surroundings. However, social stereotypes often make boys feel that caring or caring behavior is a 'female thing'. Parents can remind that caring is neutral and supports boys and girls to express feelings, help others, or care for younger siblings or pets. Thus, children are increasingly aware of the strength of empathy as part of their identity and do not feel limited by stereotypes.

Growing children's confidence is not just about frequent praise, but parental awareness in supporting children's potential without stereotypical assumptions and limitations. By expressively speaking, supporting children's interests, and giving space to take risks and empathy, you help your child grow up as a confident individual with your own skills and abilities.