The following suggestions may help you raise your child's feelings of self-confidence and worth. Feel good about your strengths and accomplishments. Your feelings of self-acceptance also affect your child's feelings of personal worth because your child identifies strongly with you. If your level of self-esteem is high, your positive attitudes and practices are likely to contribute to a family environment characterized by confidence, creativity, and curiosity. Keep your expectations realistic.
Realistic expectations lead to repeated successes which, in turn, build healthy self-esteem.
Conversely, unreasonably high parental expectations send negative messages. As a result, youngsters' feelings of personal worth erode as they withdraw in frustration or believe they must be perfect to be loved. To determine whether your expectations are appropriate, compare your goals for your child with the general developmental profiles outlined in the topic for your child's age under Stages of Child Development. Adjust your expectations accordingly. Beware especially of setting unusually high standards for a first child.