It’s easy for kids these days to loose sight of their self esteem, especially students with disabilities.  It is more important than ever for parents to remember to build their child up everyday.   The Broach School has started a new podcast called To Build A Bridge and this episode focuses on self esteem & self respect.

Mr. Walden (South Campus) has a special guest this week, Ms. Kim Cohen.  Together, they discuss what they see in students at school and how parents might be able to identify ways to help improve their child’s self esteem and self respect.  

Mr. Walden & Ms. Cohen have identified 7 tips to building your child’s self esteem & self respect.  Here are the first three: 

  • Kids need to know it’s okay to not be perfect.
    • Our kids live in a society of social media.  Everyone they see online, their lives appear to be perfect.  We need our kids to know that what they see online doesn’t always represent the truth.  It’s okay to make mistakes and to learn from them.
  • Never compare your your child  to their siblings or other children. 
    • Sometimes as parents, it’s easy to assume that your children will be similar.   It’s important to see each child as an individual and grow with them where they are.  Comparing a child to others can be very damaging to their self esteem and don’t be afraid to apologize to them if you catch yourself doing this.
  • Allow you child to make choices and solve problems.
    • It’s important that children learn to be independent, even from a young age.  Allow them to make (appropriate) choices and guide them to solve problems on their own.  Even if they make a mistake, try to let them learn how to solve it on their own or with a little guidance.  This will empower them later in life to make important decisions and feel good about it.

Head over to the podcast to hear the remaining four tips and gather some additional insight on how you might help your child with disabilities raise their self esteem for the better.