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I always ensure that I praise her on things that she has done well and not dwell too much on the bad. This encourages her in the right places.

expose them to lots of different situations - let them try new things, teach them from an early age its OK to fail - bounce back ability is a skill that needs to be learned.

Positive thinking, praise for good achievements with my daughter and a reward at the end of week. The sticker reward works well at home and school. I will encourage her to try new things even though she may be a nervous, for example she got invited to a go karting party and didn't want to go on, but persuaded her to go on and she loved it and wanted go again for her birthday.

lots and lots of praise

I always said to mine " If it goes wrong, don't worry - there's always another time, and then you'll be fine." I also used to say "Wow,you are so good at that!" Whatever it was!

Sharing stories from my own childhood seems to help

If my 2yo DD is reticent or holding back in some way I acknowledge it to myself and to her. E.g. This morning she saw a worm (we see them all the time, I'm not sure why today was a significant sighting!). So I said 'Are you worried about the worm?' and we talked about how it moves and the colour and where we thought it was going. Usually, after some encouragement and showing her that she can gently pick the worm up she is keen to have a go or at least a (very) gently touch. But I never push her, tbh I can't remember her inquisitive mind not getting the better of any worries.

The best thing in my opinion is teaching them that hard work is rewarded and that they can achieve great things if they work at them. Praise is a fantastic way to boost self esteem but not if every tiny little thing is over praised because then it starts to loose its meaning.

Never put them down - other people will do that all their lives! Be very positive about every small achievement. So what if you make them a bit big-headed? Others will try to undermine them without their parents doing so. Encourage them by pointing out that they can't be good at everything but, as long as they do their best, that is all that can be asked of them.

The one thing I want my children to know is...

Whatever they achieve or don't achieve, they have my unconditional love.

I think that is a great starting point for any child. To know that they can try things without expectation or fear.

Gold stars and little awards,high pitched praise for every little thing,high fives and clapping.All the way!Even in public places!!

Letting children have a go and not stepping in to do it 'better' for them. They will probably not get it perfect from the first go but let them know that what they have produced or done is a really great achievement.

Also if they don't really take to something , its not always best to persevere for instance my DS has never been really keen to go to football class and my DH is finally learning that backing off is best. He may come round to it by him self but for now he is really enjoying and thriving at gymnastics instead.

Model the behaviour you want them to demonstrate. I've always struggled with reverse parking but it's necessary where we now live so I've said to the DCs I'm going to give this a go and tell them I'm getting better because I've persevered and tell them I'm proud of myself when I do manage it. They see that it's normal to be proud of yourself when you achieve something and you don't always need validation from other people

Knowing that you are always there for them to listen to problems & support in any way.

Specific & timely praise, focussing on effort/ patience/ strategic thinking rather than outcome

Hugs on demand, though I might need to finish what I'm doing!

I can see what other parents mean when they say that praising your child is good for boosting their confidence. However, I've seen so many spoilt kids in playgroups who're too arrogant and dont listen to anything their parent says to them.

My advice would be to encourage your child to play more with other kids. this way, he or she will learn how to co-operate, be able to share their thoughts and make decisions together. when a child is acknowledged and listened to by his/her peers then his or her social confidence will develop naturally. In addition, he or she will be making new friends more easily and will do better at school.

There was an article in the Mail on Wednesday March 9th about toddler tantrums. as the author points out there're too many parents adopting the 'let them do what they want' parenting style without any regard for the needs of others around them. This is not always good - I dont like someone's 3 year old throwing a toy car in the direction of my 1 year old and their parent is not telling him off. or the 2.5 year old hopping on the parachute every week whilst the rest of the group is waiting for her to get off (we go to Messy Munchkins and our group leader specifically tells every time, please dont let your child jump on the parachute).
One of my friends has an 11 year old boy who is a little dictator totally out of control at home - I observed him the other week hitting his dad on the head with the plastic hammer on a walk in the park - yet he's shy at school. They took him out to see a special child phycologyst because they could not cope with his tantrums. More than enough confidence can be too much..
I've written so much so that you could see where I'm coming from.

Praise and encouragement. Don't make them do something they really don't want to (within reason), it will only make the battle harder.

My 8 year old has grown up with a little mantra of her own - 'Right, Two things, Smile, and Do My Best' - which we came up with at a gymnastics competition that she was scared of when the big day came. We were so proud of her when she smiled, all the way through, and did her best and did NOT pass, that we took her to HMV and bought her the awful 1Direction CD she'd been hankering after as a reward for smiling and doing her best. Now, when I am nervous about things, I sometimes tell her and she will cheerfully say - 'It's alright mummy, as long as you smile and do your best'. I don't think it matters what the mantra is - ours suits our child, but I think it has proved a really good touchstone for her to have it!

We find with our little grandson that if we do a reward chart to boost his confidence it works really well ,at the end of the week if he has done something he would not normally do he gets a small toy or a treat .

a lot of encouragement and praises. And be specific on compliments instead of general comments "you are great, etc"

I tell my little girl that she can do anything if she puts her mind to it, and getting it wrong a few times is part of joy of getting it right in the end. Sharing in her pleasure when she achieves something, and listening to her relaying it, no matter how small that achievement might be is one of the best bits about being her Mum!

I think encouraging my daughter to try even when she's not sure she can, but that it's OK to fail, is very important. It can be as simple as getting her to guess the answer to a question if she's not sure, and be pleased if she gets it right, but point out that it doesn't matter if she gets it wrong.

We invite our daughter's views and opinions, wants and wishes, so she knows she is a valued member of our family - if she's asked if she wants strawberries, or melon and chooses melon, she knows we will listen and honour her choice
I also encourage her to talk to other little one's when we are out at the playground and it pays off, she's made a number of new chums
We encourage her curiosity and answer all her questions
We praise and openly love her
She's a rocking 2 year old, who is secure and confident and I hope, we can protect and nurture that as she grows older
We also embrace the Montessori approach

Lots of praise when the try something difficult and cuddles when they need them.

Reminders that is the things they find the most difficult that are the most worth trying, things that are very easy are not very special.

Lots of opportunities to try new things. My daughter has tried out dance and gymnastics, performing (not very well, but we won't tell her shhhh) on the stage in both of them. We talk a lot about feelings and how people can affect the way others feel, and how its always nice to say nice things to people, but we shouldn't pay attention to people that say nasty things as its more about them the person they are talking to

Encourage your children not to be scared of their emotions, to be able talk about things is such an important part of self esteem & growing confidence. Using colours to identify emotions is a good one, we need our children to be mentally healthy as well as physically.