Hi! Guys, before I begin, I would like all of you to go through this beautiful and effective poem on parenting.
The Wisdom on Parenting? By Dorothy Nolte
If children live with criticism,
They learn to condemn
If children live with hostility,
They learn to fight
If children live with fear,
They learn to to be apprehensive,
If children live with pity,
They learn to feel sorry for themselves,
If children live with encouragement,
They learn confidence,
If children live with tolerance,
They learn patience,
If children live with praise,
They learn appreciation,
If children live with acceptance,
They learn to love,
If children live with ridicule,
They learn to be shy,
If children live with jealousy,
They learn to feel guilty,
If children live with fairness,
They learn justice,
If children live with security,
They learn to have faith.
How apt all this sounds. Somewhere in these lines, we can relate to the mistakes we have made or the problems we face with our children. Our duties include providing them with physical, intellectual and emotional security and development. It is the process of raising and educating a child from birth until adulthood, with a method of educating that is different from that of their teachers.
To start with, let’s talk about ‘Self Esteem’. The word esteem means high regard, respect, admiration, good opinion and value. It is also closely related to confidence, self-assurance, poise and self-belief. Self-esteem, when build from childhood produces a well-groomed and well-adjusted adult. Many a times a child gives his best but unfortunately for a few parents that is not enough. Believe me, indirectly it becomes criticism. The child starts to think very poorly of himself and withdraws with negative self-belief. It could be related to academics, sports or work, but his self esteem gets affected and he comes out to be a shy and not so confident child.
Parents have a direct effect on their child’s self confidence. Therefore, it is extremely important that they be given praise, appreciation and encouragement in everything. Our actions and words do a lot of good or can create a lot of damage. Since we truly want our children to be happy and to have a positive self image, we must really stop and consider and monitor every word that comes out of our mouth. Children have very fragile egos and feelings. They always seek acceptance from us. They believe they are the centre of the universe, or, at least, the centre of ours and that is how it should be!
Happy parenting.
Parents need to fill a child’s bucket of self-esteem so high that the rest of the world can’t poke enough holes to drain it dry.– Alvin Price
