Self Esteem - Part 3

Welcome to part three of our series on building self esteem in children with special needs. This series is designed to provide information and encourage the sharing of information.

Today we focus on children who are 3-5 years of age.

No longer a toddler starting at three years old your child may start to be aware of himself and the world around him. Of course, this can vary depending on the specific special need you have in your life.

In general during this stage of life the child will start to like himself and show pride in accomplishments. It is your job as the parent to support that. Here are some ideas:

- Give praise liberally

- Ask the child how he thinks he did on a particular task and support the determination.

- Discuss accomplishments among siblings - "Jane: you did a great job on the spelling test, Bob you did a great job on the drawing" do this in "public".

- It is important for parents to support curiosity. Curiosity leads to trying new things which is a self esteem builder. If the task is not successful in the eyes of the child, it is important for the parents to frame it well for them. " Well Jane, that did not turn out how you expected, but I am so happy that you tried...let's do it again tomorrow".

What worked for you and your children in the age 3-5 category? Are you parenting that age now? What do you do to help your child with self esteem building?