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Home > Blogs > Adventures in Motherhood > Archives > 2010 > May > 15 > Entry
How to raise a confident child
Spotted on a bumper sticker: “Well-behaved women seldom make history.”
This quote from Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, a Mormon, activist and women’s history professor at Harvard, popped out at me as I was driving home from the gym thinking about my confident, outspoken daughter.
I know she is “confident” and “outspoken” because that’s how she was tagged by her female Facebook friends on two of those goofy caricature collages. These are admirable qualities to be identified with, considering other possibilities included “total princess” and “probably on something.”
(Her male FB friends tagged her as “scary” and “quiet” — which is fine with me, too. ;)
Anywho, a few nights ago during dinner, we had been discussing her fall sports options as she makes the leap to junior high next year. She could try out for a local club team, or maybe even switch to field hockey, because of the lack of a girls soccer team.
My grrrl informed her father and me that not only will she try out for the school’s co-ed team, she will make it. Then she repeated herself, staring at us intently over the top of her eyeglasses, one eyebrow raised: “I WILL make it.”
Well OK then!
She might get roughed up or ride the bench all season, but at least my daughter will be true to her school, and true to herself.
Was I that self-assured on the cusp of 12, with so little concern for conforming?
I doubt it.
Wherever her composure is bubbling up from, I hope it’s a deep well.
I’m not a reader of parenting books, but I did stumble upon “12 ways to help your child build self-confidence” on AskDrSears.com. This list offers some good advice that may help you help your kids develop a strong sense of self-worth.
I like this bit from the summary: “Every infant whose needs are met has self-esteem built in. Like an arborist caring for a tree, your job is to nurture what’s there, do what you can to structure your child’s environment so that she grows strong and straight, and avoid whittling away at the tender branches. …
“You don’t need a degree in psychology to raise a confident child. Much of parenting is easy and fun. Hold your baby a lot, respond sensitively to her needs, enjoy your baby. Then sit back and enjoy the person whose self-esteem is developing naturally.”
And that’s just what I’m doing.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Milestones, Mommy confessions
Comments
By null
May 15, 2010 5:38 PM | Link to this
Make sure there is a participation trophy so there are no losers.