Home > Kids > Childhood Development > Building Self-Esteem > 10 Tools for Parenting Happy, Healthy Children

Slideshow Iconslideshows MORE

|

10 Tools for Parenting Happy, Healthy Children

Doing some of these things may be hard work; some of them will come naturally. Irritatingly, some of the pieces you find difficult will come naturally to your partner, but that works both ways. On the plus side, however, working on the difficult pieces will help you realize just how much of what you do for your children isn't so important. Best of all, after you have these 10 bases covered, you can stop stressing about the rest, and get on with being a great parent and enjoying your child.

Previous
1 of 11
SmilingyoungAfrican-Americanboy
Next

Make Their World Solid

Few things are more important than giving your children confidence and self-assurance. Those are qualities that will enable them to get the rest of what they need for themselves.

Self-confidence comes largely from being confident in the world around you. If you can trust your own world to be solid and unchanging (in the right ways) it's far easier to be sure of your own place and personality within it. Your job is to make sure that everything important in your children's world is consistent.

On top of that, you need to make sure they feel good about themselves. You need to tell them how kind they are, not how selfish they are. You need to remind them that being the fastest swimmer isn't as important as being a good loser. You need to show them that they can do more than they realize, and that you believe in them.

More: Make Sure They Know Their Strengths

Next: Give Them Some Magic

From Nobody Told Me That! 10 Tools for Parenting Healthy, Happy Children Copyright © 2009, FT Press. Used by permission of FT Press, and Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

To order this book go to Amazon.

you might also like:

from our community:

what’s hot

  1. Top 10 End-of-the-Year Gifts for Teachers
  2. 10 Gender-Predicting Old Wives' Tales
  3. Father's Day Crafts Kids Can Make
  4. VIEW ALL

stay connected

Sign up for our free email newsletters and receive the latest advice and information on all things parenting.

Enter your email address to sign up or manage your account.

Facebook icon Twitter icon Follow Us on Pinterest

editor’s picks

highlights

10 Ways to Deal with Temper Tantrums
Temper tantrums are an inevitable part of being parent. Read on for 10 sanity-saving tantrum tips to help calm your child when he's in the throes of emotional turmoil.

8 Printable Thank-You Cards for Your Child's Teacher
Teaching is no walk in the park! Print any of these free printable thank-you cards for teachers to salute your favorite educators for all the hard work this school year.

Explore Funbrain Jr. with Your Preschooler
Looking for fun online games, adorable stories, and cool printables for preschoolers and kindergartners? Check out the new Funbrain Jr., a fun place to learn for children ages 2 to 6.

Award-Winning Apps for Kids of All Ages
Looking for high quality apps for your toddler, preschooler, or school-age child? These 16 award-winning educational apps help kids of all ages learn a thing or two during tech time.

Summer Learning: 11 Everyday Ways to Learn Math
Summertime is a great time to teach your child how math plays a part in his everyday life. These 11 everyday ways to learn math are fun and educational, and will help him see how this subject plays into real life.