The teenage years can be a nightmare. There is so much going on with all the changes and emotions and weird feelings that it seems impossible to manage. Self-esteem issues are one thing that many teenagers face, and even the most confident adolescents can transform into awkward and self-conscious teenagers through no fault of their own.
And this can be a huge knock to their confidence. As a parent, you want your teen to be as positive and happy as possible, so how can you help your teen build their confidence without being too overbearing? Here are a few ideas to help you guide them in the right direction, but only from a distance, of course.
Photo by Kobe Subramaniam on Unsplash
Help Them Find Their Style
While your kids have long grown out of letting you pick their clothes, you can still help them find their style through subtle influence. Teenagers spend five or six years desperately trying to discover who they are. During this, they’ll cling to artists and actors or YouTubers as role models.
With fashion being cyclical, it’s no surprise that whatever was fashionable 20 or 30 years ago is coming back into style, too, so showing them how to achieve 1990s men’s hairstyles and even dragging some of your clothes from that era out of storage can help them find some style inspiration.
Teach Them Life Skills
The more capable your kids are now, the happier and more confident they will be once they move out and go to college or get an apartment of their own. You can help them become more capable by teaching essential skills that will benefit them without you to cook their meals, do their laundry, or keep the house clean.
It may not seem like much, but these skills can–and will–make a significant difference in how they handle situations later in life. They will have no trouble taking care of themselves and taking care of their friends or partner, also.
Help Them Flourish
Parents can also help their teens flourish at school and in extracurricular activities. Their grades and hobbies are where they will find most of their self-confidence, so you can encourage them to explore what they are best at. This could be through taking more advanced courses or applying to universities with a focus on their preferred subjects.
You can also give them all the tools they need to succeed. If they are into sports and activities, taking them to games and competitions will expand their horizons. For creative ventures, instruments, and extra classes enable them to hone their skills.
Give Them The Chance to Speak
Your teen may stop talking to you at some point, but this is something you can probably expect. Still, this doesn’t mean they don’t have ideas or beliefs. You need to make them feel comfortable enough to speak about their issues or any worries. Parents who empower their teens to discuss issues that are both personal and global will find that discourse is much easier to establish and maintain. Furthermore, this makes your teen feel like their opinions are respected, which is a superb confidence booster.
Help Them Handle Typical Teen Issues
Every teen will encounter problems as they learn more about who they are. Some will handle it better than others, so helping them learn the best skills for handling teen anxiety or other typical teenage issues is a must.
Your support will make them feel more confident in themselves and prove they have the support they need to excel. What’s more, it’s better to learn coping techniques now instead of struggling with the same issues in the future when they may not have as strong of a support network.
Provide Unconditional Support
It goes without saying that you will love your children unconditionally even if they may make it difficult to support them sometimes. Your unconditional support is vital for raising your teen to be the best person they can be. A stable home environment and willingness to help them with school work and other demands is enough to foster confidence and give them all the tools. You must still encourage independence, but your support will teach them how to be independent and prepare them for the rest of their life.
Confidence
Confident kids grow up to be more self-assured and willing to put themselves out there, which increases their chances of success later in life. You can set them up for this success by ensuring you do everything possible to improve their confidence and boost their self-image to prepare them for whatever life throws their way.
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