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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Sharing stories from my own childhood seems to help

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!

lots and lots of praise

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.

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.

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.

This is a really important thing for me - I was painfully shy growing up & I want to give my LO the best chance at growing to be a confident, sociable adult. I try to give him lots of one-to-one quality time, lots of eye contact when we talk - praising him when he succeeds when trying new tasks, & praising his efforts when he doesn't succeed first time. I love seeing his little look of pride, it's so cute! As much as I pull him up when his beahviour isn't great, I really try to focus on times when he does behave really well, says please & thank you & make a big things of pointing this out & celebrating this with him :)

Tips would include letting them be themselves - nothing as creative as a child. Also encouraging them rather than criticising

we use lots of praise and give lots of encouragement, Tj gets very frustrated and we find talking quietl and being calm does help and 99 time out of a hundred he too calms down and whatever it is he struggles with we help, again lots of encouragement goes a long way

Listening to your child and encouraging them to follow their goals no matter how big or small. You should praise them, be positive and help give them the courage they need.

Definitely praise and positivity but not too exaggerated. My little one cried at every nursery drop off for a year. I think I used to go a bit over the top with the 'it's going to be very fun at nursery' massive fake smile. The day he stopped crying was the day I forgot his shoes and so got distracted talking/grovelling to his teacher. Took the pressure off I suspect!

Loads of great ideas on here (I'll be stealing some of them!)

With my son I try to make praise very specific and I've found it's really helped him not only realise exactly the things I want to see in him. It's made him more confident that although he has to try hard to accomplish things he CAN do them if he keeps trying, that he already has tons of strengths and that he is loved, valued and cherished just the way he is.

I try very hard not to say "that's great" or "good work" and go for "you waited patiently for your friend to stop speaking before asking me for something; that was considerate" or "you had to really concentrate and keep trying to get that one right, that showed a lot of determination and perseverance".

Always praise rather than find fault and I always tell my children/grandchildren that I love them.

Display their artwork and models. Praise their efforts. Use specific rather than vague praise. Try to remain positive when things go wrong. My 4 year old son is a perfectionist and will often throw things in the bin if he is not happy with the way they turn out (even when they're really good). I try to emphasise the positive things about what he is made but sometimes that upsets him more so now I let him have the choice over whether or not to throw a creation away.

positive reinforcement. plenty of encouragement showing they can do anything if they put their mind to it and try. praise success. praise unsuccessful attempts as 1 step closer to achieving.

Trying lots of different things so that your child can find what they're good at, doing things that are fun to do and not just based on the end result, letting them have a go for themselves especially if they feel something is 'grown up', not making a big deal of mistakes and a lot of praise along the way. You can always find the positive things to point out!

Lots of love, praise and encouragement !!!

Lots of praise, but beware of over-doing it or it becomes meaningless.
A bit of responsibility can be useful for an older child so they know they're trusted

My son is very shy and does not like to try new things and meet new people. I just try to praise him and encourage him when he does something he is worried about. He is getting better and hopefully will be more confident before he starts school in September.

I think the way to build confidence is obviously with positivity and praise but also to help your child to solve problems and think for themselves.

i always say you can be anything you want as long as you work hard and sometimes it takes different people longer to learn different things and to just try their best and that is all people can ask of them
Always tell them you love them and give them lots of hugs and praise