Children learn a lot of new things about themselves in their early years – not only do they begin to understand themselves, but also learn to accept themselves.

This, in essence, is what self-esteem is all about – to like yourself as you are. For children, this comes from being loved by family and peers, and accomplishing new tasks on their own, whether it’s as simple as buttoning their own coat.

On surface level, self-confidence helps children stay happy both in the present and the future. In reality, there are a lot more reasons why self-esteem matters:

Owning Your Identity

Self-esteem helps children understand themselves better – their strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities. This helps them understand – and accept – their own identity from an early age.

Of course, this sounds like some philosophical leap for your little one – but it truly does wonders! People who have a better perception of their identity from a young age are stronger in terms of mental and emotional health. They make better decisions that don’t harm them, but in turn uplift them in a healthy manner.

Influence Over Actions

Self-esteem is supposed to help children’s mindset about themselves – but there’s no denying that it also reflects positively on children’s actions.

Children who are confident in themselves tend to interact more confidently in front of others. This in turn allows them to make better decisions, be quick at solving problems, and be overall more interactive with others. In a way, strengthening a child’s self-esteem helps them be more social.

Better Risk Takers

Children who are sure of themselves doubt themselves less than others. That’s why they are more likely to try new things, and hence learn from new and interesting experiences. Upon being successful, they feel more proud of themselves, thereby strengthening their self-confidence exponentially.

Even in cases where they fail to succeed, self-assured children are quicker to accept their mistakes and make way for improvement. They don’t dwell on their failure as much as children with low self-esteem do, and hence are better at not giving up.

Emotionally Resilient

Self-esteem not only makes children be aware of their strengths and weaknesses, but also helps them make better conscious decisions – i.e. decisions that can affect them emotionally.

In short, children who have high self-esteem respond to peer pressure better, since they don’t feel the need to prove themselves to anyone. They also are able to handle extreme emotions a lot better, since they are sure of their own boundaries.


Parents contribute the most to building self-confidence by praising them, and making sure their children know and feel loved. In much the same way, teachers are the second-most influential figureheads for children. Teachers from nurseries in Emirates Hills do their best at uplifting students. Practitioners at Oakfield Early Learning Centres accomplish this through task-based group activities and interactive study sessions, where children experience the fun of answering a question right!

Being self-confident might not be a natural feeling, and it might be something your child struggles with. Either way, that does not mean your little one doesn’t deserve to feel good about themselves. All it takes is persistence, resilience, and a lot of mutual love and support.