From the Desk of Keith Hafner
How to Raise Your Child’s Self-Esteem
Beware! There is a thief near you! And that thief is not after your money or your television. This thief is after something far more valuable.
The thief is after the Self-Esteem of your most precious possession…your child.
My friends, we live in a largely negative world. And, unless you are vigilant, that negativity will drain the Self-Esteem from your son or daughter.
Protecting the Self-Esteem of your child is an ongoing, never-ending task. The responsibility falls to you. If you don’t undertake this urgent responsibility, who will?
The “Keith Hafner’s Karate” teachers use a 10 step approach to developing and protecting Self-Esteem. You can use these strategies, too!
- Always remind your child of their past victories and accomplishments. Let their self-image be built upon a recollection of past successes. Let the memory of failures and disappointments fade away.
- Help your child strive for improvement….not perfection. Help them to create reasonable expectations for performance.
- Develop a family heritage. Teach your child to be proud of your family. Tell them about the achievements and sacrifices of their parents, grandparents, and other relatives.
- Do provide feedback; don’t be overly critical. If you do have to give negative feedback, especially to an older child, always criticize privately; on the other hand, always praise publicly!
- Teach him the value of telling the truth. Lying steals Self-Esteem!
- Appearance counts! Guide your child into taking pride in their appearance.
- Try to guide her toward friends who have high Self-Esteem. Help her to avoid negative people.
- Paint the big picture with your child. Help her to dream big dreams about her future!
- Be healthy! Exercise regularly; eat a balanced diet.
- Become an expert! Pick a couple of activities that are important to your child and help him to MASTER them! Don’t allow them to flit from activity to activity.
