5 year old - low self esteem

[Boymamx2]

Had my just turned 5 year old sons 1st parent teacher meeting today and the teacher mentioned that she sometimes struggles to understand him. It's not something I've ever noticed (aside from a slight lisp), nor has anyone ever said anything before.

She also raised concerns around him having low self esteem.

Any ideas on how to further look into / support both?

Ask the wellbeing team for support.

Lots of kids have difficulty with some letter sounds at this age. Get him singing - teach him Christmas carols! - reciting rhymes and reading familiar stories with you (he can join in the bits he knows).

Parent teacher meetings aren’t spaces for a deep dive. Regarding self-esteem - I’d want to explore how that manifests in school. Does he say he feels stupid, not want to join in, speaks little or too quietly, cries a lot?

My ds lacks self-confidence - he is convinced he’s an idiot and he is scared of how slowly he learns things (he is perfectly average and has unrealistic expectations of being instantly able to spell and do maths). His speech has always been delayed and sounds babyish - so he struggles with interaction with adults and peers. He gets very anxious and upset when he’s faced with new tasks at school.

To counter this we spend a lot of time going over things he is learning at school in a very fun and visual way so he realises he can do the basics at least.

We also put him in a martial arts class and a drama group - both are very easy and help his listening and partnering skills. He loves the physical and social interaction with other kids in a low-stakes setting and it’s lovey to see him laughing and looking forward to something. It doesn’t flow into school yet but I’m hoping in time he will carry those good vibes forwards.

Thank for the reply!

The low self esteem comment seemed to relate to him being very shy, not making his own choices and being a bit of a sheep, waiting to see what others do etc. We do have him in taekwondo so hopefully that will help.

I suspect the speech part is also related to this as he is very shy and not the loudest in the class.