Comments on: Podcast: The Gift of Confidence http://blog.anniefox.com/2010/03/08/podcast-the-gift-of-confidence/ Thoughts about teens, tweens, parenting and this adventure of living on Earth in the 21st century. Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:59:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: janetlansbury http://blog.anniefox.com/2010/03/08/podcast-the-gift-of-confidence/comment-page-1/#comment-13463 janetlansbury Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:11:13 +0000 http://blog.anniefox.com/?p=3027#comment-13463 Annie, Thank you for providing this wonderful resource for parents. It's never too late for parents to work on creating a healthier dynamic in their relationship with a child -- one that encourages the child to work through frustration and failure, rather than being constantly bailed out by the parent. But, parents may not realize that the development of a child's self-confidence begins at the beginning, in infancy. When a parent hands a baby the toy he is struggling to reach, or moves a baby from the floor to a sitting position because we think he's "bored", or 'helps' a toddler finish the puzzle he's stuck on, the parent is undermining a child's burgeoning self-confidence. Infants and toddlers can tolerate frustation. They don't expect life to be easy. We spoil the child when we 'help' too much in the beginning and give the child the sense he must depend on the parent to do everything for him. We underestimate babies all the time! Children of all ages need the opportunity to overcome obstacles and the chance to struggle to solve problems. Even babies need to be able to accomplish for themselves. We must be constantly attuned to our child, trusting him, and staying out of the way as much as possible, right from the beginning. THAT is the way self-confidence is built. I've written many articles about this on my website. Here's a recent one: http://bit.ly/bw72bh Annie, Thank you for providing this wonderful resource for parents. It’s never too late for parents to work on creating a healthier dynamic in their relationship with a child — one that encourages the child to work through frustration and failure, rather than being constantly bailed out by the parent. But, parents may not realize that the development of a child’s self-confidence begins at the beginning, in infancy.

When a parent hands a baby the toy he is struggling to reach, or moves a baby from the floor to a sitting position because we think he’s “bored”, or ‘helps’ a toddler finish the puzzle he’s stuck on, the parent is undermining a child’s burgeoning self-confidence. Infants and toddlers can tolerate frustation. They don’t expect life to be easy. We spoil the child when we ‘help’ too much in the beginning and give the child the sense he must depend on the parent to do everything for him. We underestimate babies all the time!

Children of all ages need the opportunity to overcome obstacles and the chance to struggle to solve problems. Even babies need to be able to accomplish for themselves. We must be constantly attuned to our child, trusting him, and staying out of the way as much as possible, right from the beginning. THAT is the way self-confidence is built. I’ve written many articles about this on my website. Here’s a recent one: http://bit.ly/bw72bh

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