Boys Self-Esteem Building— According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Self-esteem plays a central role in a child’s motivation and achievements in school, athletics, and social relationships”.
Given the powerful role and tremendous importance of a boy’s sense of esteem, I’m sure you agree that building strong self-esteem is essential to a successful and happy life for boys of all ages.
I see healthy self-esteem as a life skill that must be taught and powerfully instilled in children.
For a moment, I ask you to think of healthy self-esteem as a life skill that must be practiced in a similar fashion to personal body care skills. You already know that in order to keep a body in good shape one must take daily actions. Bathing, grooming, eating, exercising, and relaxing are all examples of essential, daily body-care actions.
Now consider building self-esteem from the same perspective as performing daily personal body care. From this perspective, two primary components to building a strong sense of self-esteem in kids emerge. They are:
- Building healthy self-esteem takes time and effort.
- Maintaining self-esteem requires daily attention (because it is a never-ending and lovely journey we all travel).
Because one’s sense of self-esteem is a central determinant to experiencing a successful, happy and fulfilling life, it is wise and prudent to make time every single day to teach your child how to build up his sense of self-esteem. You can help build and improve your son’s sense of self-esteem right now with the 13 simple self-esteem-building tips outlined below.
Thirteen Tips for Building Self-Esteem in Boys
- Take time to do things you enjoy.
- Do things that make use of your own special talents and abilities.
- Give yourself rewards.
- Learn something new or improve your skills.
- Spend time with people.
- Begin doing those things that you know will make you feel better about yourself.
- Do something nice for another person.
- Make it a point to treat yourself well every day.
- Share some smiles & hugs.
- Truly communicating & listening.
- Respecting self and others.
- Praise and acceptance.
- Making eye contact.
(Excerpted, in part, from Building Self-esteem A Self-Help Guide)
Just imagine minutes from now how great you’ll feel when you are enjoying one of these tips by sharing it with your precious son. Encourage him to practice any or all of the self-esteem building skills outlined above and he will no doubt master the vital life skill of building and maintaining a healthy sense of esteem.
FACT! Self-Esteem is an ongoing journey, therefore daily action is required to build, improve, strengthen, and maintain a boy’s positive self-esteem. (Psst…. please remember that everyone feels bad from time to time and not only is this perfectly ok, but it is also a normal part of having healthy self-esteem.)
For more about how to build self-esteem in kids, please read my article about Self-Esteem Facts.
Until next time, keep practicing the self-esteem tips outlined above…
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Sincerely,
Jill
journalbuddies.com
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I need help, I have a grandson who plays football. He is 10 years old almost eleven. He is very thin, but he is a very good runner. Two-time winner of the MVP award three years straight. Great kid, quiet, respectful, and good looking.Recently his coach told him to gain some weight because next year is going to be difficult for such a small framed kid. I am grandma, and I am FURIOUS. Is this the proper way today to build good self-esteem in these kids. I worry because his sister is normal, he is small. His Dad is small, always has been. Please help!!!! what sgould happen?
Hello Donna,
It sounds to me as though your grandson is a spectacular kid, and you obviously love him lots!
I understand your concern and suggest that you speak about this matter with his parents, or maybe with a counselor at his school. There is a lot of pressure on athletes and it can be a fine line between something bolstering a child’s self-esteem if the advice works or lowering it if they don’t succeed and “measure up.” So please seek out professional advice in regards to this matter.
Oh… and thank you for loving your grandson so deeply. That makes all the difference in the world to a child!
Kindly,
Jill
I have a 15 year old brother and he’s a really smart kid. The thing about him is the typical going to school of his choice. This school year he didn’t have that chance. He’s going to a military school and he complains about going. Our mother, though, went to this same school and our grandmother was in the army long ago. They give him grief about not giving it a chance, but he has good grades. Now, he’s always looking down and sad. He tries to stay away from both our mother and grandmother. I need help with my little brother. He feels they are downing him and his affords.
Hello Lauren,
The very best thing YOU can do for your brother is to love and accept him and let him know it! That is a powerful action and can help him dramatically.
Of course, if you feel he needs even more help than you can offer then you might want to seek advice from a school counselor, a trusted person from a local church or community organization or from other family members. Remember that challenges make us stronger and that we are capable of dealing with much more than we give ourselves credit for being able to manage.
Be strong and keep loving your brother! Tell him to be strong too. Everything will work out!
Kindly,
Jill
Hi,
I have a 16 year old boy and I don’t know what I have done wrong. He doesn’t seem to have any self esteem. What steps do I take to build his self esteem back up. I think it began when he was in the sixth grade. He was chubby during 5-8th grade and would get made fun of because of his weight. Help!
Patty
Hello Patty,
There is much you can do to bolster a child’s self-esteem and a simple step to take is to find something — anything! — that this child is good at doing and to build on it. Take action each and every day and over the course of a short period of time you will see major improvements him. (And YES, every person has skills and talents and small actions do make a big difference, remember this!)
Also, if you feel that professional help is needed please seek it at your school, church, community organization or local hospital.
Most kindly,
Jill