Building Your Kid’s Confidence While Building Your Own

Raise your hand if you’re the most confident person ever. 

Yeah, I hear those crickets chirping. 

If we’re honest with ourselves, most of us parents feel like we have no business teaching our kids how to be their most confident selves. I mean, how could we? We look in the mirror at ourselves and don’t like what we see. We take a trip down memory lane and realize we’re not as successful as we thought we’d be by now. Something happens daily that reminds us of how flawed our parenting is. 

And you think to yourself: If there’s anyone who should not be teaching a kid about confidence, it’s me. 

Now, hold on there, friend. Maybe you’re the exact person your kid needs to teach them about confidence. Just because you’re not the most confident person you know doesn’t mean you can’t impart some sort of guidance in the self-assurance department. It’s not parallel parking (a driving skill I will one day have to outsource). 

While most of us lack confidence personally, we still know what confidence looks like. We know the benefits of true confidence. We know the dangers of low self-esteem. Add that to the number of years we’ve lived on planet Earth and we’ve got ourselves an almost ideal situation. 

So, where to start? What to do? How do you create an environment that encourages your kid to be their most confident self? 

You can make a handy, dandy list of all the qualities you wish for your kid to have, even if you don’t have those qualities yourself. Then take that helpful list and start thinking of ways to help strengthen their character in those areas. 

You can start intentionally creating opportunities to help your kid use their voice to communicate their needs, engage in healthy debates, and feel safe to make their own choices. 

And if you feel like you just don’t have the skill set to do all that yet, you can call in reinforcements and surround your kid with people who can help guide them toward confidence.

And while you’re at it, think about ways you can use the same character-strengthening practices you’re using on your kid . . . on yourself too! Because the truth is, you’re growing right alongside your kid. And that’s totally okay, by the way.

So, join the club. Like you, I’m just a confidence-lacking parent out here trying to fake it till I make it with my kids . . . but perhaps that’s the point.

You know having a confident kid is important, but you don’t know where to start, right? We understand. Check out our children’s devotional all about confidence, Press Play, at pressplaybook.com.