Whether your child is 4 or 14 it’s never too late to help him or her to build a healthy self-esteem. Here are 4 ways to help build your child’s self-esteem that are easy to implement. A healthy self-esteem could make all the difference between a confident young adult keen to explore the world, or a timid, confused and unhappy young adult who could be tempted by drugs, crime or promiscuity.

1. Love Them
Of course you love your children, but do they know it? How do you show your love to them? Loving them includes setting boundaries, making the consequences clear and following through – it’s not letting them have anything and everything they might want.

Loving your children means being there for them. It’s being willing to listen to them when they want to talk about their problems. It’s giving them space to grow and develop and have their own opinions. Loving your child also includes cuddling them and hugging them. Letting them know you care. Letting them know they matter to you.

2. Praise Them
As your child grows they will be learning new skills and trying new things. Every attempt is worth praising and encouraging. Some times they will inevitably fail, that’s part of learning. But if the failure is seen as a positive for being willing to try rather than a negative by just focusing on the end result, then they will be more willing to try again until they master the new skill.

Children who are praised and encouraged develop much higher levels of self-esteem than children who are mocked and criticised for failing in their attempts.

3. Listen to Them
Make the time to be there for your children and listen to them. There will be times when your child is concerned about school, or about friends, or about interfamily relationships. Those are the times when they need to know you are there, willing and able to really hear what they have to say. And, most importantly, that you are on their side and still love them whatever.

When someone takes the time to really listen to you, you feel important, worthwhile and validated. The same is true of your child. As you make the effort to listen to them and really hear what they are saying, they will feel important and worthwhile. Their self-esteem will be built up and they will feel good about themselves.

4. Trust Them
When you trust someone they tend to live up to that trust. When you don’t trust them and continually check up on them, they tend to live down to that lack of trust. When you keep open communication channels with your children they know what your values are. And as you trust them in various situations they will make every effort to be trustworthy.

When a child is not trusted and you impose strict rules and regulations on them, they are more likely to rebel against the strictures. That rebellion can take the form of all sorts of self-destructive behavior such as experimenting with drugs or seeking casual relationships in an effort to find love and trust elsewhere.

You will find that as you love your children, praise them, listen to them and trust them, they will grow into happy, healthy adults with high self-esteem.

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For more information and ideas to boost your self-esteem and that of your children see my new book How To Feel Great, Find Love and Get Promoted 50 Ways to Boost Your Self-Esteem.