7 Tips for Raising Confident Children

Now more than ever it’s so important to begin practicing confidence and raising your children to be confident as well.  Thanks to social media, societal pressures, the fast fashion industry, and the constant changes within beauty standards, more and more people become far more self-conscious. This has unfortunately reached young children as well. Television shows, YouTube videos, apps, games, toys, and anything else that a child consumes for entertainment is some form or another usually telling children that they need to change something about themselves.

This is terrifying and it especially shouldn’t be affecting children! As parents, how can we stop this? It’s important to know that you can’t control everything, you can’t control everything that your children see, do, and what they’re exposed to. It’s just not possible. Since their environment can’t always be controlled, it’s important to know that you can at least counteract it by raising your children to be confident.

Raising confident children, and letting them eat, live, and breathe self-esteem is going to be the best step to take as a parent is letting them know that they’re beautiful the way they are. It lets them know that they’re doing enough, and most of all, it helps them to not compare themselves to others and question themselves. These are some tips for helping your children become confident and to help you as the parent raise your little ones into becoming confident children with high self-esteem. 

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Start young

You’ll want to start this the moment you find out that you and your partner are going to have a child. Many soon-to-be parents, and even young parents, begin putting expectations onto their children. Putting expectations on your child, especially when they’re still just a fetus is going to set yourself and your child up for failure. This isn’t the way to grow confidence in your child, and this isn’t the way to have a healthy relationship with your child either.

Sure, while the idea of you and your partner fantasizing about your child becoming the one to cure cancer, become the next president, or major athlete is a very attractive idea, it’s better to not have those ideas or expectations. Instead, shake things up and envision all the fun possibilities that your child is going to have, thinking about their personality traits, what they’re going to find of interest, and how their character is going to be. In general, put healthy expectations on your child and build them up by thinking about their qualities, not what they can or will do.

Let them know that they’re perfect the way they are

It doesn’t matter how old or young your children are, you should always let them know they’re beautiful both inside and out. Starting young is going to be the best way to let them gain their self-esteem and to block out negative thoughts that state otherwise. This also includes not criticizing them often, especially when it comes to their appearance. If they styled their hair a certain way, compliment it. If they’re picking out their outfits or discovering their own style, just praise them.

Tell them it’s okay to have some insecurities

Everybody has their own insecurities, it’s just something that cannot be avoided. Let them know it’s normal to have insecurities but they shouldn’t eat them.  Sometimes it’s fine to make changes because they may solve a bigger issue and they can help. A great example would be CO2 Laser Release | Lip Tie Infants | Tongue Tie Infants, many parents put their babies under a procedure to fix this minor birth defect. The baby was already beautiful the way it was, but this massively helps. Everyone has insecurities and sometimes there need to be solutions to these.

There’s nothing wrong with that and it should be accepted. However, if insecurities become a major problem and it’s obsessive, that’s when a problem happens. Even when raising confident children. It’s best to understand that in the end, they’ll still have insecurities eventually within their life.  It’s just something that you’ll have to let it be.

Show your confidence

Children love to emulate what their parents do. If you’re wanting to raise a confident child then you’re going to have to be confident yourself. This isn’t an easy task, confidence isn’t something that anyone is born with. It’s just something that comes naturally with a good environment and positive reinforcement. However, this is quite possibly going to be a mental challenge.

Parents have a lot of insecurities, whether it be age, their parenting styles, their occupation, weight, just basically anything at all. This can even include insecurities about common hair problems that should worry you anymore. In general, you’re going to have to mentally challenge yourself to drop your insecurities and accept yourself for who you are. Remember, to raise confident children means you must be confident yourself.  

Teach them to accept compliments

This also applies to you as the parent. Sometimes it can be difficult to accept compliments, to a degree we’re almost programmed to not want to accept them. Accepting compliments isn’t bragging, it’s someone saying something nice. Teach your children to accept these compliments, accepting compliments is a way to let this positive reinforcement in. Positive reinforcements are the way to allow confidence to grow.

Build up your child

Building up your child is going to build up their confidence, belief in themselves, plus it’s going to help their development into a good person. If they did something good, cheer them on and praise them. If they’re sad and crying, hug them. Speak nicely to them, encourage them, and recognize their positive behavior and actions. This is all going to help them and it’s going to be incorporated in developing high self-esteem.

Get your whole family on board

Family, your friends, babysitters, and anyone else that is involved with your children. While it may be difficult to get teachers on board, trying to get others on board will help. It’s important to try your best to surround your children with positive reinforcement. You want people to be around your children that are going to be nice to nice, share words of wisdom, and encourage them.

4 Tips for Raising Resilient Children

For many adults, reminiscing about childhood was all about thinking about how carefree life was before adulthood. No responsibilities, no bills, no work, just fun time. While this may be true, it’s also important to realize that the second that many children hit adulthood, they’re just far too overwhelmed with the pressures of being an adult.

That’s why it’s important to start when children are young, teaching them about responsibility, teaching them to tend to their own needs, fitting in, and so much more. Children have a lot of stuff they need to learn about but it can be far too much if they’re only learning as an adult. Resilience is what will help a child become a problem solver and it’s also what is going to help in navigating adulthood.  These tips are going to help you raise your children to be resilient and take what life throws at them

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Teach them about emergencies

Emergencies can come at any time and they can indeed come in many forms as well. This can include teaching them what the urgent care facility is, what an emergency room is, the importance of 911, and how to properly assess a situation. Parents aren’t always going to be there for their children when an emergency strikes. While it’s true they need to learn for themselves, they must be taught the basics so they can stay level-headed during an emergency.

Show how resilient you are

Sometimes, all it takes is showing your child how resilient you are. Children look up to their parents. Even if you lose your cool at times, showing that you’re regaining control of life situations is one way to show your resilience. Nobody is perfect and everyone screws up, even the best parents do. Admitting to your mistakes, admitting to the faults you have, and apologizing when you’re in the wrong shows how mature you are and it also shows that your child needs to learn about this too. These are things that they tend to naturally pick up on.

Allowing your child to  make mistakes

You as a parent make mistakes, so it’s okay to let your child make mistakes too. This is going to teach them to improve. This is also going to allow them the opportunity to learn right from wrong and admit themselves to when they make a mistake. Slip-ups happen from time to time and they will usually learn the consequences of their actions. A couple of great ways to teach them about mistakes and cause and effect would be through playing video games with your child or even board games.

Don’t be a helicopter

As a parent, it’s going to be difficult to not want to huddle and watch over them. This is very natural to do, but it honestly does far more harm than it does good. It’s important to be helpful towards your child but you also have to give them the freedom to make their own decisions. This is going to be the way to teach your children about limits and let them know that at times they need to limit themselves.

The Best Prep For Runners

If you have been running for a while and want to take it to the next level, or perhaps you are new to running and looking to get yourself in the zone before you slip your trainers on – this post is for you. 

Preparing for a run isn’t simply tying your running shoe laces up and being done. Your body goes through several processes as it is running, and it needs to be in the best condition to do that. 

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Here are a few simple things you can do to prepare yourself for running. 

Gear

If you have been running in whatever is comfortable up until now, then it is time to change the game up. The running gear you use has a significant impact on your performance. 

At a minimum, you should be looking to invest in the following:

  • Running shoes are designed for the ground you run on. If you want to use Vibram shoes for a natural foot shape, keep in mind you will likely need extra support by Achilles tendon taping
  • Sunscreen is essential even on overcast days – opt for sweatproof sunscreen. 
  • A sun hat and sunglasses designed for running
  • Slimline hydration pack or bottle
  • Reflective accessories and clothing

Choosing running shoes isn’t an easy task; you must get measured in a professional running store. You might have high arches and need extra support, or perhaps you have a wide foot. 

No matter what the issue is, you need to have the perfect fit. Poorly fitting trainers will leave you prone to ankle and knee issues. 

Need more tips? Choosing Running Shoes

Starters timetable

If you have been running for a while, this section isn’t for you. Starting your running journey might not begin with how you think. Your body needs to be conditioned to run and run well. 

Start by combining jogging and walking between 4 and 6 times a week. Jog for a few minutes and walk for a few minutes as the weeks pass, minus some walking minutes and add them to your jogging speed. After a few more weeks, try jogging the whole way one or more times a week. 

Experienced runners

After you have been running for a while, it’s time to go a little harder. Instead of a gentle warmup, start pushing your body hard. This is called priming and is often underappreciated to get into the zone and perform your best immediately. 

Your body adapts to the demands of running hard, and the longer your run, the more effortless it becomes, so use your warm-up and the first round on the track and go all out. 

Something runners have in common is the drive to do something and achieve it. Once you have been running for a while, it’s time to set yourself some big goals—sign up for some marathons and races. The deadline on your fitness will mean you are more focused than you have ever been before, and that can be a beautiful thing.