How To Increase a Child's Self-Esteem
The exercise is based on the main principle of self-esteem formation - our self-image from childhood is made up of positive and / or negative assessments of adults. The task of the exercise is to understand and, if necessary, correct in the mind of the child ideas about himself.
So, the exercise "Sunshine".
You will need: landscape sheet, pencils or felt-tip pens.
1. Ask your child to draw a sun with rays. There are no requirements for the drawing, the child draws the sun anywhere within the sheet and with what he likes.
2. Let the child talk a little about the sun.
- The sun - what is it?
- Bright, yellow, red, kind, warm, joyful...
- Now imagine that the sun is you. The sun has your name.
3. Let the child sign, if he can, his name in the sun. If he does not know how to write yet, then sign the name yourself.
4. The sun must have rays. If there are few of them, then paint up to 7-9 rays.
- You listed how wonderful the sun is: warm, bright, kind ... Let's sign each ray of the sun, naming some of your wonderful qualities. What are you?
The child may not immediately answer (what can we say, and adults are often lost). Help him by saying, for example: "I think you are kind. What else?"
5. Each quality named by you or a child is signed along the ray. It is necessary to try to ensure that each ray is named. And let the child dream up a little, brag. Do not mind, even if you think that this quality or habit is not developed in him or is absent at all.
So you can hear what the child considers his achievements: "I wash the dishes ... I put away the toys ...". Write down everything you hear.
You can hang this sheet in the nursery and after a certain time (or after the child has done good deeds) draw and add new rays.
Psychologists recorded changes in the child's mood when performing this exercise using computer diagnostics. For some, it changed from dark black to sunny yellow. Just imagine what an effect!
Important!
1. No need for replicas: "Yes, this is done when you say ten times ...", etc. In the exercise "Sunshine" we work only on the positive.
2. No matter how angry you are with a child, never erase, cross out the rays, do not reproach him ("well, you are the Sun, you should not behave like that ..."). Otherwise, the exercise will not only lose its meaning, but will also have the opposite effect!
Do this exercise with your child, or you can try it yourself - this is a good way to understand (and develop) your strengths.