By: Ken Austin
The foundation of men is built in their childhood. It is when our minds are most absorbent to knowledge and learning. Yet it is also when our minds are most susceptible to damages of negative inputs.
What we experienced during childhood will be carried over through the rest of our lives. Though the effects vary largely, at times these may be subtly felt and at times, we feel like our reactions to stimuli are commanded by our perception of things.
Children don't know these things though along with other things that are essential to living life fully. They are not even aware that the juncture they are presently into is the peak of initial development.
Having said all these, it is but important that each of us recognize our impacts to a child's over all well being, from his childhood until he matures.
We have to realize that they look upon us as models. They have no concepts other than those that we imparted to them.
Thus, if we make them believe that they are not good and they cant do anything well then expect a pessimistic child. However, if at a very early stage we have made that child believe on his attributes and on what he is capable of doing, then the child we are looking at is someone who is ready to achieve, to sail on and to take life in its smooth handle. It all depends on how we train the individual and how we form his core values and beliefs.
Lack of encouragement may cause a child to be a bit less confident of himself. Couple this with frequent abusive words, you are sure to have a child that has crippled sense of self.
It is best to make a child realize how special and how worthy he is. After all, he would eventually replace us. Imagine if you have created a child who knows nothing about handling his sense of self.
If you would expose a child in an environment that would elicit in him concepts of low self worth then it would be likely that he would live in a state of unhappiness and discontentment. Low self worth is a state that is closely associated with feeling of unimportance, sadness, depression, inadequacy, diminished sense of self, insecurities, self loath and an over all sinking feeling.
Letting a child live in these conditions would deprive him of options for growth. Instead, he would have to endure self-sabotaging behaviors and decisions that are manifested through low self confidence. These things would then recreate other ways that lead to difficulties of maintaining relationships, struggles with self-harming acts and tendencies of giving up things.
Unless you want a child to suffer a life of miseries, you must be conscious of how you handle him, the things you are making him believe and the acts that you intend him to see. All these are essential in instilling a confident spirit in a child.
So you see, you as a parent or a model to which the child has learned to associate his respect and trust to is responsible of your actions towards the child. It is your responsibility to make that child believe of his worth. Depriving him of the gifts of self confidence is like denying him all the adventures and harvests of life.
