I Cant

[TuTu]

My 5 year old DS2 who is on the surface the outgoing one, the cheeky monkey, the joker, has really low self confidence. He so frequently says "I cant do that..." to just about any new task, whether its drawing a picture, reading a book, playing a new game, or just about anything he hasnt done before.
He has always been a bit like this, but it has got worse as he has got older. He has a very bright older brother DS1 (7) who effortlessly sails through school at top of his class. DS2 is probably on the average level at school (which I have no problem with) but his best friend at school is the top of his class. The worst thing is I have now heard this little boy constantly boasting about how good he is "i'm the faster runner than DS1, I'm in the top reading group, I have a 10m swimming badge", and on and on.
This all came to a head last week when DS2 turned tearful, and we eventually got out of him that "my friend X says things that make me feel sad".
We are praising DS2 so much, and making a fuss of how well he is doing at school and at football, but I just dont think its enough.
Please help with suggestions on how to boost my DS2's self confidence and how to deal with this negative friendship.

a little bump!

I can only suggest what I have tried with my own DD who is now 6...saying to him "you did well, so you should be proud of yourself." is always better than "I'm proud of you"

It teaches them that the only person they need to strive for is themselves...put him in an outside activity where you get something back in the form of certificates or badges...I can only think of martial arts or gymnastics but there must be more.

Watch that during daily life you allow him to complete difficult tasks unaided...persueing lacing up shoes or doing up top buttons is worth it as these small acomplishmnts allow him to see he CAN do it....the same wih setting up games or fiddly crafts....the more you make him do for himself the more his confidence will grow,

Thank you Anemone, that makes sense to build up the confidence in the little things. Because he is the youngest I do probably do too much for him as well, so will try this out and try to give plenty of praise in the way you described. I just know it is so important to try to get him to have a positive belief in himself now, to set him up for later in life.