Share your tips for boosting confidence in small children for a chance to win a SIGNED copy of THE LION INSIDE plus a £100 JOHN LEWIS VOUCHER!

[SorchaMumsnet]

From the creator of the known and loved Bright Side lifestyle brand, Rachel Bright, and illustrator of Oi Frog!, Jim Field, comes a feel good rhyming story about one little mouse trying to make himself heard and discovering along the way that even the smallest of us can have the heart of a lion.

Perfect for fans of Giraffes Can't Dance, this stylish book from two contemporary stars really is something to shout about - it will make you laugh, cry and want to read it every bedtime.

Share your tips for boosting confidence in small children for a chance to win a signed copy of The Lion Inside plus a £100 John Lewis voucher!

This discussion is sponsored by Hachette and will close on 4 April when the winner will be posted on the thread.

Give children some household responsibility and praise when they do it well, rather than complaining if they don't. No matter how young they are there will be something they can do to help e.g. making sure the dog bowl has fresh water in the morning before they settle down for their own breakfast or putting out their clean underwear the night before so it is ready for dressing for school.

If you can help your child accept the fact that it’s OK to get things wrong – show him that you get things wrong too – you’re opening up a whole new world for him. You’re giving him acceptance of himself and the ability to cope with new situations even when you’re not there.

So sometimes we should do things wrong on purpose so he can see how to deal with it and, if possible, make it right again.

That’s empowering him with confidence and promoting independence; indispensable skills that will make starting school as easy as falling off his bike!

Plenty of praise all the time. If they fail on anything turn it into something positive with what they did well at. Ask them for ideas on different things to make them know that their thoughts count.

Plenty of praise and showing and telling them they are loved

Be present and interested in what they are saying. Discuss things and treat their view as important and valid. Remind them that everything in life, even the mishaps, are all normal parts of learning, everything won't always be perfect and that's fine, they have you as their ally and cuddle bunny!

Praise them whenever they do anything well.

I try to get my kids to make decisions all the time, even the smallest things, they get to contribute to all family discussions and decisions so I hope it makes them feel valued, important and equal.

Lots of praise for their achievements and making sure they get to win at games sometimes. Although this then annoys big brother

always praise. even when if they do wrong you've got to understand the age and its hjow they are making there way in the world.its how they learn.
show love no matter what. a person who feel cherished and loved will conquer all. they mgith still go through horrid times they might witness horrid things. but if they are loved they will get through.

Let them do something themselves and then tell them how well they did it all on their own.:)

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.

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

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

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.

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!

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

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 .

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!

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

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.

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!

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

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

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.

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