Build Everlasting Self-Esteem in Children

Self-esteem is the opinion that one has of oneself and in one’s abilities and worth that needs to be nurtures and protected right from a young age. In this blog post, the top-ranked ICSE Prep school in Patiala shares some essential tips with you.

Give them choices and responsibilities

Children may be small and young and all they, and you, want is for them to be burden-free and enjoy every little moment. But in between all the fun and play, children need to learn and grow up too. They want to feel like they are intelligent enough to be handed responsibilities. They want parents to trust them with little tasks. So start small, give them a choice while picking clothes and shoes. Assign them easy and safe chores, like cleaning and putting their toys in order.

Shower them with sincere praise

Building positive and life-long self-esteem in children is hugely determined by how and how much you praise your children when they do something commendable. The idea is not to drown them in a sea of fake praise and ignore their mistakes, but to give them assurance that they are capable of being wonderful. Don’t go overboard with your praise, using fancy words and tone. You need to be sincere and specific with what you say. Instead of saying you’re the best artist ever, say you’ve made such great progress at drawing birds.

Use failure as an opportunity

Failures are the stepping stones to success. Allow your children to make mistakes, fall down, learn from their errors, and challenge themselves as these are the things that help in shaping their character and developing their personality. Teach them how to use their failure as a learning tool to improve and expand their horizons so that they are better prepared for success. Make sure you support them when they fail at something by keeping their spirits up.

Don’t use harsh criticism and sarcasm

When children do something wrong, it is important to let them know that it is wrong and should not be repeated. Explain to them why it’s wrong without sounding too critical and harsh. Don’t use cruel words and other non-verbal cues of communication that are cruel and can possibly damage your child’s self-worth and make him/her afraid to come out of their shell. Make sure you use a calm, understanding, compassionate and non-judgmental tone with kids.

As one of the best preparatory schools in Patiala, we aim to instill a strong sense of self-esteem in children from a tender age.

The Correct Way to Teach Handwriting

How children learn to write letters forms an inherent part of their learning journeys. Research has shown that children who learn to write the essential elements of letters correctly also recognize them more easily. This contributes positively to their reading development as well.

Being one of the leading preparatory schools in Patiala, we explain to you the main elements of handwriting instruction.

Pencil Grasp

There are correct and incorrect ways of holding a pencil. When held correctly, it can result in comfortable and neat handwriting whereas incorrect grasps can lead to poor letter formation and tiredness. Teach your kids to hold the pencil between the index finger and the thumb so that it rests against the middle finger. If you child has an incorrect grasp you can use a pencil grip or gently tie a rubber band around the ring and little fingers.

Letter Formation

Kids find it easier to draw straight lines as compared to curved ones so from a developmental point of view it’s better to start by teaching them how to write capital letters before lowercase ones. Incorporate phonics instruction with handwriting lessons for better understanding of the concept of phonics. Teach them to start their letters at the top, use continuous strokes, lift their pencils when required. Use lined paper, dots, arrows and outlines for tracing letters makes writing easier for kids. Pay special attention to difficult letters that children often find confusing like b, d, p, and q. For instance, while writing b, begin from top and while writing d, begin from the middle.

Legibility

The words should not just be properly formed but they should be clear enough to be read. Here spacing between the words plays an important role. Kids should not cram the words into one another; rather there should be a “finger gap” between the words.

Pacing

Correct pencil grasp and letter formation usually solve pacing problems. Here, parents and children should be mindful of another factor. That is the pressure on pencil. If the child exerts too much pressure on the pencil while writing it can slow down his pace and lead to writing fatigue. Too little pressure results in incorrect hold of the pencil and could also point towards muscle weakness. Encourage you r child to practice writing using a wide variety of materials like pens, pencils, crayons, markers and sketch pens.

As one of the best ICSE schools in Patiala, we suggest you to get your kid to practice handwriting for a few minutes a day to improve their letter formation skills and overall literacy development.