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Have faith in yourself and the rest will automatically fall in place! This is something we have often heard over time. How do you though, find ways to build your child’s faith in themselves and God?
Sara came home from school with a crestfallen face. Her teacher had picked her to do a reading activity next week in class. Sara had trouble reading fluently and would falter at words quite frequently. So she was terrified that she had to read in front of all the children. What would she do? All kinds of excuses started building in her head to avoid the class next week.
Have you faced such a situation, where you are expected to deliver something that is not your strength and you want to run away from it?
As much as we enjoy being in our comfort zones, life sometimes pushes us to the edge of the cliff. As adults, we would somehow find our way through it. But when it happens to our children and we see them breaking in front of our eyes, it is indeed tough! Building faith in oneself is crucial in personal development. If children can be nurtured to believe in themselves in their early stages of life, they will gain the confidence to face any situation even in their adulthood.
Here are 5 ways to build faith in children:
- Encourage to explore:
Children are naturally curious and eager to explore. Giving them opportunities to explore and experiment will boost their sense of competency and self-confidence. It is also a learning journey. Encourage them to dress themselves, make choices about their activities and gradually take on more responsibilities as they grow. The feeling of being important starts ebbing in them thus fostering a sense of self-reliance.
Sara’s mother bought a variety of books – picture books, chapter books and kept them in various places of her room. Sara found it surprising and exciting to discover a book under her pillow that night and read the whole book before she slept that night.
- Mistakes are steppingstones:
Life is full of ups and downs and each setback is meant to groom us to be stronger and resilient. Encouraging children to embrace mistakes as learning opportunities will help them to face challenges with a positive attitude. Instead of sinking in despair in a difficult situation, they will have faith in themselves to chin up and face it.
Sara’s family came together to help her overcome her fears. Her father told her to read the passages aloud to him. During the first read, she faltered many times and was at the verge of tears, not wanting to read anymore. Her father encouraged her and told her to visualize her reading well in the class. Slowly Sara wanted to do it well and she decided to try again.
- Set realistic goals
Setting age-appropriate goals is a powerful way to build discipline and competence. Break the task into smaller steps to help children not to feel anxious but achievable. Each time a goal is achieved, however small it may be, it will improve the self-belief in their abilities and the urge to experiment further.
Sara had a big goal – she had to read well in class next week. She set a daily goal to read one paragraph correctly. In a week’s time, she was able to read the whole passage well. She was elated. She no longer struggled in reading.
- Practice, practice, practice
The key to success is hard work and determination. The more you practice, the more you expertise in the skill. No matter how much ever boring or tedious it may seem, practice!
Sara read aloud a paragraph a day to her father. When she made mistakes, she started over again. She kept reading till she could read fluently without any doubt. In this process, she grew more confident to read other books as well.
- Praise Effort
The most important attribute to building self confidence is to acknowledge and celebrate the efforts put in by children, rather than just the outcomes. Instead of saying, “You’re so smart,” try saying, “I’m proud of how hard you worked on that.” Emphasizing the value of effort and determination teaches children that success often results from resilience and hard work and not just by their talents. This boosts an enormous level of belief in themselves that they have the power within them to face any challenge in life.
Sara’s father appreciated her efforts at the end of each day’s reading. By the time a week passed, she was full of confidence to read in class. Her classmates were surprised at her improvement. The teacher also applauded her for her efforts. Now Sara knows that if she has any challenge, she can still overcome it!
Building faith in children is a precious gift that can last a lifetime. It empowers children to believe in their abilities, take on challenges, and pursue their dreams with confidence. Let’s strive to nurture every child to grow up with the faith to conquer any challenges that comes their way!
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A Senior Manager in IT Service field, Liz uses her free time to teach youngsters about faith to prepare them for the outside world. While music, poetry and writing have always been part of her life, her entry into the publishing world happened with her poetry via the book – The Changing Mask in 2021. Her strong belief that kids accepting themselves and learning to build their inner faith is critical led her to writing for children. She currently lives in Kuwait with her two daughters and enjoys meeting new people through event management opportunities that come up. A lady of many talents, her upcoming books include early chapter books that can help children to become happy, spiritually stronger individuals.