Your teenager has returned to school after the summer vacation. At the beginning of the new school year, your teen may experience feelings of excitement or anxiety. However, you can make the most of this time by laying the groundwork for your teen’s academic success. As a parent, it is important that our teens be confident in themselves. As teens go through self-discovery and search for their place in the world, many encounter circumstances that test their self-beliefs. In this article, we will discuss ways to build self-confidence in your teenager and prepare them at the start of the school year.
Building Confidence and Self-Esteem
Children who were confident as kids may lose it as teens. Adolescence is often a time of self-doubt, poor body image, and insecurity for many. Good news: You can help improve low self-esteem in teenager, which in turn will benefit them in many other ways. Confident teens can handle peer pressure, navigate dating relationships, make good decisions, and recover from setbacks. Here are a few ways to help build confidence and self-esteem in your teenagers:
â—ŹÂ Â Â Show unconditional love
When we condition our love on our teen’s actions, we diminish the power of unconditional love and undermine the belief that they are worthy of our affection regardless of their behavior. Assure your adolescent that your affection for them is unconditional and unrelated to how well they achieve in school, the company they keep, where they attend university, etc.
â—ŹÂ Â Â Build confidence at home
A fixed attitude prevents many adolescents from expanding their sense of who they are and what they are capable of. Even though your kid seems to be rejecting the idea of improvement, there is always space for development. Discuss how the human brain is continually developing and expanding. Write down some thoughts on areas in which you’ve observed your adolescent develop. This will help with building self-esteem in teens and start building their confidence.
â—ŹÂ Â Â Make room for failure
A teen’s sense of self-worth can be directly tied to how their parents respond to the inevitable failures and setbacks they will eventually face. Criticizing, overreacting, or ignoring it will only convey a message that there is no room for growth as a result of their experiences. Stop worrying so much and talk to your teen about it. Teens are capable of overcoming challenges if they see them as opportunities for growth.
â—ŹÂ Â Â Develop new skills or interests
Although your teen’s brain is developing rapidly at this time, you may notice that they are having more difficulty in some areas than they were before. Insist that your teen perceive each difficulty or area of worry as a chance to develop new skills and broaden their horizons. Build on your teen’s interests to help them discover new skills.
●   Don’t let them give up
Teenagers may not always need to feel confident before embarking on anything new or difficult. If they commit fully to anything, they embrace a growth attitude and can gain confidence along the way.
â—ŹÂ Â Â Give reassurance
Teen’s often experience difficulties as they begin to transition into adulthood, but this does not make them bad people. You should reassure your teen that they are not bad for choosing an activity over having a romantic partner or ending bad friendships. Building self-esteem and confidence often means taking bold stands.
â—ŹÂ Â Â Create a safe space
If you want your teen to feel secure and confident, you should provide them with a safe environment in which to do so. Imagine different scenarios and act them out, varying your responses, voice volume, tone, and any nonverbal cues you use. When teaching teens self-esteem, those who struggle to communicate clearly, they can benefit from having a safe space to do so at home.
â—ŹÂ Â Â Encourage self-compassion
Encourage your adolescent to practice self-compassion if they are unable to break free from a negative or limiting mindset regarding their worth. To cultivate a healthy growth mindset, we must be kind and patient with ourselves as we continue to learn and grow. Have them install apps that promote mindfulness, come up with uplifting mantras, or write positive affirmations down in a place where they will see them frequently.
â—ŹÂ Â Â Explore different activities or interests
Teenagers who do a lot of different things, like sports, clubs, volunteering, and schoolwork, tend to feel better about themselves. They don’t let a setback in one area bring them down because they have other things that make them feel good about themselves. As a parent, if you continue to be supportive, reassuring, and optimistic, your teen will feel confident and capable in themselves.
â—ŹÂ Â Â Listen
To be empathic, you don’t need to agree with your teen. Do not judge, assume, or leap to conclusions. Focus on listening rather than being correct or having the last word as a parent. Listening builds self-esteem and self-worth in teens.
â—ŹÂ Â Â Model confidence
If your adolescent is watching you, they’re observing how you handle tough situations and how you feel about yourself. Consider your self-esteem and confidence, and be objective. Adopt a healthy mentality and seek experiences and activities that build your self-confidence.
Tips to Prepare for School
Keeping your teen interested in school and extracurricular activities can be accomplished by maintaining an active, but not overbearing, relationship with them Now, let’s examine some back-to-school tips and tricks that will help you and your teen transition into the new school year.
1. Prepare teen for school
Back-to-school preparation should begin at home, and parents can help their teen get off to a strong start by incorporating various back-to-school strategies and practices into their family’s regular activities. Breakfast, sleep, and limiting screen time are three ways that you can assist them in tackling the day without interfering with their increasing level of independence.
2. Help them become more organized
As any parent who has had to clean their child’s room can attest, no one is born with exceptional organizational skills. The ability to organize one’s life can lead to greater success in middle and high school, which can serve as the foundation for future success.
3. Prepare them for academic success
When you have more classes, there is also more material to study and more work to complete. Keeping on top of their homework can help students maintain control over other aspects of their lives. Every school night, adolescents may have assignments that take several hours to complete. Providing assistance to them in the management of their workload can go a long way toward assisting them in the organization of their lives.
4. Promote extracurricular activities
It is beneficial to a teen’s sense of belonging when they participate in extracurricular activities outside of the classroom, such as theater club, art club, or playing a sport. Teamwork and a sense of belonging are two important building blocks for self-confidence, and encouraging participation in organized school activities can help students develop both.
Be Strong International
Ensure that your teen is confident and prepared for a successful school year. Maintain close contact with your teen while also giving them the independence they require to grow into unique and strong individuals. As mentioned in our list above, boosting teenage self-esteem with activities is a great way to start. Be Strong International, for example, is an organization that helps teens navigate all areas of their lives.
Be Strong International is a non-profit organization based in Miami-Dade County with the mission of guiding individuals and families from brokenness to wholeness by providing educational services and resources to assist them in developing and maintaining healthy relationships. They are dedicated to assisting teenagers in becoming strong and thriving individuals in school and in life.
Their Project H.O.P.E. program assists teens and young adults in making better decisions about their relationships, character, careers, and finances. These interactive workshops are intended to guide and empower young people from public and private schools, churches, and community organizations. Every kid is welcome! This program addresses difficult topics and deals with real-life situations. The Project H.O.P.E. staff fosters an educational environment that is open, honest, realistic, and evidence-based. For more information about Project H.O.P.E, click here.
Their “After-School Club” program aims to guide middle school aged children by integrating holistic enrichment activities such as arts and academic support, as well as a unique curriculum that meets their social, emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical needs. For more information about the Be Strong After School Club, click here.
The “Girls Empowerment Mastery Sessions” (GEMS) program at Be Strong aims to provide teen girls with the tools they need to “find their voice” in all aspects of life, including social, emotional, mental, and physical dimensions. According to research, it is quite common for girls approaching adolescence to experience what is known as “loss of voice.” This is defined as the inability to fully express or value one’s own thoughts and feelings. This program will help her discover her own voice and building confidence in your teenager. For more information about the Girls Empowerment Mastery Sessions, click here.
If you have any questions feel free to reach out to us through our Contact Us page or write to us on the Chat Box located on the bottom right corner of this website.
