Teenage or adolescence as it is called is a crucial period for identity development. Did you know that approximately 1 out of every 5 teenagers face mental health issues? Several issues arise out of the blue since they experience a sudden change physically and mentally, often leading to low confidence levels.
This is also the age when children tend to rebel a lot and hence do not see eye-to-eye with their parents. However, with patience and some solid strategies, parents can support their children in becoming confident. Let us dissect the strategies below:
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Encourage their dreams: On the path towards self-discovery, they may tend to make a misstep or two. Be there to back them and give them that extra dose of motivation to go ahead in the journey. Your presence and reassurance will guarantee that they feel better and persevere towards achieving their objectives.
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Offer endless love: Unconditional love is the single most underrated ingredient when it comes to encouraging your children. Teenage is a tough maze for children to unravel and they are bound to succeed in certain things and fail miserably in others. When they see failures, give them a helping hand and get them back on their feet by offering unconditional love and support.
When they know that you will stick with them, they will tend to be more forgiving of their mistakes. This will aid them in analyzing what went wrong and gather takeaways from the same. As a whole, the process will give them the confidence to go about independently, accept their mistakes graciously and get better at everything.
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Celebrate unique qualities: In everyday life, it gets easy for us to show our irritation and contempt towards others when we get irritated. When teens are at the receiving end of such behaviour, they do not take it kindly and withdraw into a shell. It gets very hard to handle them when this happens.
The best way to deal with this situation is to appreciate them when it is due. Give them a pat on the back when they do a good job, and take your time out to laud their good qualities - be it good art that they have created or for assisting you in the kitchen. This will significantly boost their self-esteem and confidence. However, do not overdo it for you will end up appearing inauthentic.
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Cultivate acceptance: The quality of acceptance is pivotal for leading a contented existence. Life may throw many curveballs at us, but if we can accept what life gives us and make the best of it, we end up becoming strong. Age and experience are great teachers and hence, we become more accepting of life as we grow older. Teens would lack this quality since they believe things will work out the way they want and everything is hunky-dory. More often than not, this attitude gets them into a spiral of self-doubt when things don’t go as expected, eventually leading to lower self-esteem and confidence.
Talk to your child patiently and explain the beauty of acceptance to them. Guide them on how to accept people and life as they come. Teens must learn how to handle people as it is something they will have to do for the rest of their lives. This will develop their confidence in dealing with people since they will learn to not discriminate against people and see them for what they are.
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Assist in SMART goal creation: SMART goals stand for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound goals. Setting goals in this manner will ensure that the teen has much-needed clarity on what they need to achieve and how they should go about it. They will also comprehend the method to measure the goal and also analyse its relevance over time. Check if the goals will enhance skills that they are fundamentally good at for it will give them a boost of confidence. It is crucial to have achievable goals and a set timeframe.
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Grow through failures: Failures are described to be the stepping stones to success. If you do not fail, how can you understand something inside out? Explain to the teens that they can't always find success in everything they do and that failure isn’t a big deal. Another scenario they need to know is that they may fail in their first attempt (or second or even third), but it is perfectly fine for that to happen.
Educate them not to contemplate the failures as there is no use crying over spilt milk. Make them learn how to analyse the situation and understand what exactly went wrong. Sit with them and make them gently grasp the exact root cause. Be kind to them. Guide them on how to move on from a mistake and go forward in life. Your kindness will not only improve their mood and make them feel better but will also give them encouragement to take big strides and refine their actions. The mantras that will assist your child herein are “I will do better next time” and “I will try again”.
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Demonstrate self-love: Children look up to their parents all the time and as teens, they understand and absorb everything better. Hence, you need to be careful of what message you are sending out to your young one. Tell them that physical beauty is not the most important thing in life and that there is more to look forward to. Set a precedent by practising self-love yourself - appreciate yourself for what you are and your children will do the exact same.
The act of self-love will enable them to love themselves despite their so-called flaws in the long run. Even when people talk in a discouraging manner, they will be able to overcome the negativity when they love themselves. Self-love will also give them the confidence to be strong and fierce, which will make them emotionally healthy adults.
Teenage is a wonderful phase of life to be in, but it takes some time for children to settle down as they experience sudden growth, be it physical, mental or emotional. It takes time for the teens and others around them to accept the changes and often, this transition period causes friction and clashes.
Be patient when it comes to handling your teens. Try to be their friend and not a parent. While they may not immediately open up to you, this tweak in the way you interact will go a long way in establishing a strong bond between both. Working on the aforementioned points will eventually aid your teens in becoming their most confident versions.
