If you’re like just about every other parent, your end goal is to create the best possible life for your child. However, as there is no actual rule book for raising children, people often employ varying tactics to achieve this goal to different degrees of success. There’s no surefire way to raise kids a certain way, but there are some things you can do to build their confidence so they feel ready to take on adulthood when the time comes. Here at Rebounderz, we’re big on building up confidence and socialization through fun activities at our Apopka trampoline park. Here are some other tips for building confidence in kids.

Earned Praise and Rewards

Praise and rewards are a double edged sword. They are essentially an incentive tool, which means you have to be careful what you’re incentivizing. The key to using praise and rewards correctly is save them for when they are genuinely earned. It may seem like a net gain in the moment, giving in when a kid is throwing a tantrum, but in the end all you’re doing is incentivizing tantrum throwing. Make sure that the tools you’re giving your kids will help them, rather than harm them, later in life by incentivizing the right traits. Teach them WHEN to be confident, on top of HOW to be confident.

Let Them Take Risks

We live in a world of cause and effect, and let’s face it, most adults still seem to struggle with this concept. Instilling an understanding of how things are interrelated is extremely important not just for confidence building, but for success as well. Unfortunately, human beings don’t learn well by being told something, but rather by doing it. The lesson a child gets from a parent telling them “Too much sugar will make you sick”, is very different than the lesson a child gets from being told that, on top of eating too much sugar and getting sick. A parent’s job is not to eliminate risk, but to mitigate it. Let your child make mistakes (within reason, of course), and be there to pick them up when they fall.

Give Them Responsibilities

Any parent can tell you that children love mimicking adults. It’s a big part of how they grow up. Kill two birds with one stone by giving them responsibilities around the house to keep up with. This will not only give you a much needed break from chores, but will also build up a sense of confidence and work ethic in your child. It’s important to keep the chores within the range of what your child can comfortably handle, and to be aware when other factors might exacerbate stress, or else these responsibilities can backfire and promote negative feelings of self worth.

Unconditional Love

While your rewards should be conditional, your love should be boundless. It’s important for a child to know that whatever happens, their parents will still love them. Without that knowledge, the risk of failure can be crippling. The world is scary enough even with someone in your corner, so make sure to let your kids know you’ll always be there for them!

Incorporate Failure

Failure is not something to be shunned; it is, in fact, an integral part of success. The earlier this is instilled in childhood, the more willing your kid will be to learn about the world. Rather than punish a child for failure, see if it can’t be used as a learning opportunity. Did they forget to make up their bed this morning? Ask them why. Maybe they’re having trouble sleeping, and need to move bedtime up. Maybe they don’t understand the importance of keeping their bed made. Maybe they just forgot. Whatever the reason, engage their critical thinking skills so they can learn how to regulate their behavior.

Join in Team Activities

Socialization is a huge part of building confidence in kids. Coordinated activities are the perfect type of socialization to not only build confidence in kids, but also the interpersonal awareness to use that confidence in conjunction with others towards a common goal.

Hopefully these tips help you engage better with your child. If you’re looking to build confidence through fun team activities, Rebounderz has them in spades here at our Apopka trampoline park. Give us a call for more information about our attractions and activities. We look forward to hearing from you!