Would you like to bring up a confident child who isn’t afraid to speak their mind? Teaching assertiveness can be invaluable for your child as they grow up. It will empower them to achieve whatever they set their minds to.
They won’t shy away from challenges or be easily swayed by peer pressure. They’ll also be more likely to be successful in both their professional and personal lives.
Little steps might help your youngster gain confidence and become more willing to express their views. Over time, you’ll see your little one standing their ground and defending their opinions. This will show you how far they’ve come and how mature they have become.
How do I help my child use their voice?
Anyone who knows how to utilize their voice is empowered to move through life with confidence. Here’s how parents can help their children acquire these skills and feel comfortable expressing themselves.
- Encourage your child to respond on their own: When someone, like a neighbor or waiter, asks your child something, let them answer. Don’t try to help them out by interjecting. They have a mind of their own and they should feel free to respond the way they want. Parents usually speak for shy kids to make the situation less uncomfortable for them. However, this doesn’t help their shyness. Instead, teach them how to talk to new people.
- Offer choices: Children practice independence by practicing decision-making. It can be something as small as choosing whether they’ll play at a cool indoor trampoline park or in a park outside. When they’re given agency, children learn how to rely on themselves and weigh out the advantages and disadvantages of a situation. This makes them more confident individuals overall.
- Teach responsibility: Children need to know that their words and actions have consequences. Encourage them to think ahead and predict the consequences of their choices. This will help them act and speak more thoughtfully and be more confident about what they’re doing and saying.
- Have discussions: Get interested in what they have to say. If they’re having trouble forming an opinion, ask them questions to help them get to the answer. Don’t feed it to them; instead, make sure they reach conclusions of their own. This will help them learn how to form opinions, find arguments, and stand their ground.
- Expose them to information: You can only have an informed opinion about things you know well. This means that your child needs as much information as they can get. Use your child’s natural curiosity and expose them to learning materials that will further promote it. Novels, encyclopedias, educational videos, or toys, all could work. If you make learning fun, they’ll be eager to do it.
- Set a good example: Since children learn by example, they will mimic what you do. If you speak your mind, they will probably do it too. Set a positive example by expressing your opinions honestly, openly, and respectfully. A child’s reaction to emotions is influenced by how adults handle them. If you don’t make a big deal out of expressing yourself loud and clear, but simply do it on a regular basis, they’ll adopt this behavior.
- Show respect: As parents, it’s easy to see your child as a cute little baby and nothing more. However, it’s important to treat them as developing individuals with opinions, interests, and tastes of their own. For example, be careful not to dismiss their ideas as silly and childish because this may make them reluctant to share them.