Exercise To Strengthen Children’s Self-esteem

Here we introduce you to an exercise to strengthen children’s self-esteem. You basically very easy. But very effective. Just try them out!

Boosting self-esteem is fundamental to the proper development of children. And there are very different ways you can use your little ones to develop self-worth. For example, you can do something to strengthen your children’s self-esteem with the exercise that we introduce to you below . Here we explain how to do it.

But first, you should know that self-esteem is the assessment you make of yourself based on some subjective traits. And this judgment about oneself depends on the lived experiences. The same applies to the perception of oneself and others. It is therefore important that children feel loved and accepted by their immediate surroundings from the first few years of life.

Exercise to strengthen self-esteem: I pack my backpack …

The aim of this exercise is to identify and evaluate all of the strengths and weaknesses that everyone has. Above all, the positive properties and qualities should be emphasized. In order to achieve this, the first thing to do is to remember different experiences, feelings and thoughts. Finally, the positive “pieces of luggage” should then be packed into this imaginary backpack. And this accompanies you through your whole life.

The main goal of this exercise is to improve and strengthen children’s self-esteem. In addition, this activity of self-reflection will help little ones acquire the following skills:

• Appreciate yourself.
• To become aware of yourself.
• To recognize one’s own qualities.
• Expressing your own thoughts and feelings.
• To have confidence in yourself.
• Accepting yourself for who you are.

I pack my rucksack … This is the self-esteem strengthening exercise

To put this exercise into practice, you will find a small guide here. All you have to do is follow these simple steps:

1. First you give the child a piece of paper with a backpack drawn on it. Plus several small, blank pieces of paper cut out in a circle. These should look like they are stones.
2. Now the child should write their own negative and positive qualities on these “stones”.
3. Then these properties are glued to the drawing of the backpack.
4. Explain to the child that some of these “stones” are too heavy and they will need to get them out of the backpack.
5. Now ask the child to cross out the negative traits they want to get rid of.
6. The positive properties, on the other hand, are colored in to emphasize them. And give them more meaning.

All of these steps are necessary to guide the child through the following processes:

• self reflection
• Self-knowledge
• Self-assessment
• Self acceptance

That is, in the process of developing and creating good self-esteem.

Where and how does self-esteem develop in children?

It should not be forgotten that self-esteem has its origin in the social environment of children. And especially in the relationships they build with their closest loved ones (family, friends, teachers, etc.). These have a significant influence on the development of self-esteem. So whether a child will have low or high self-esteem. The little ones perceive their own qualities according to the following factors:

• According to the interpretation others make of their behavior and actions.
• According to the information that others convey about their strengths and weaknesses.
• And in the context of the way they are treated by others, especially loved ones.

A clear conclusion can be drawn from this: Of course, it is not enough to do the above exercise with a backpack. This alone cannot improve a child’s self-esteem. Because this exercise only serves as a supportive measure. But what is really important and counts: You have to pay attention to your child in everyday life  and always support them. Because that’s how it will feel valued and loved.