Helping to build self-confidence in my son Dominik is one of my key goals to help him to become more independent and confident human being. Even if he is only three years old, I have been able to create different environments, which promote self-confidence in him just by letting him be in charge. You as a parent, you will able to create the same situation if you spend time outdoors, go to the restaurant, or just going to a store.

Creating an environment for self-confidence in your child.

The right environment which helps your child with self-confidence is all around us; however, you might not think that way until now. And the best part is that you will spend quality time with your child with priceless memories.

Hiking with your Child

Being outdoors and let your child hike on their own is one of the best ways to help them build self-confidence. Allowing them to climb the hills, balancing on the rocks or be observant of nature surrounded the hike is priceless.

When I started to hike with Dominik, at first he was carried by me,(great work out by the way) but later on he wanted to explore his path by walking short distances. At that time he was around 1.5 years old. Right there, I could see that he likes to be in charge; he did not want to sit in the carrier, but rather be moving.

Now that he is three years old, he can walk most of the hikes on its own which is great that I do not have to carry him; however, his sister Zoe is the one observing our efforts from the backpack. Yes, I got a new load to carry.

Examples to let your child gain self-confidence while hiking.

• Let them fall
• Let them choose the path

Let them fall

You might wonder, why would let Dominik fall down? The answer is simple, do you ever fail in your daily life? Something does not work out the way as you planned? That’s right, it happens to all of us.

By letting your child fall down, trip on the tree branch or let them slip on the rocks, you are allowing them to get over the painful moments on their own. Our parental instinct is to help them to stent up, but by helping them, we are actually doing the opposite. When they overcome the challenge, give them high five, or stay something positive to celebrate their efforts.

Let them choose the path

One of my favorite activities, when we are hiking, is to let Dominik choose the way even if it means we are going in a circle. Yes, it did happen more than once, but it’s fun to see when he realizes that we went in the loop. That’s a great learning experience for him to know that he made a mistake.

The way I do is that I give Dominik two options. Which way do you want to go “left” or “right.” He chooses the way, and I follow. This is another excellent way to help your child become more independent.

Going to the restaurant

Eating out was never an issue for us; however, the older Dominik got, the more we had to think to keep him busy without letting him use our cellphone. We used to let him use it, but that was simply our laziness not to pay attention to him.

I was thinking, how can he get more involved, and the light bulb went off. Let him order his own food. When we get to the restaurant, we look at the children menu, and if there are excellent choices, we let him know what he can order, or we look on other options, but he is the one who orders his food.

To make your child feel like he or she is equally important at the dining table promotes a high level of self-confidence. I challenge you to allow your child to order their own food.

Going to a store

You might not be able to go to a restaurant, but you most definitely go to a store to buy something. Does your child ever want to buy something? If yes, this is an excellent opportunity for you to let your child be in charge.

Here is an example when Dominik wants to buy a hotdog from Costco. I do give him two dollars. I tell him to go stay in the line, (I am watching from a safe distance in case I need to help him but not right by him)when it’s his turn, he asks for a hotdog, and the cashier gives him his hotdogs as well as chance. Mission accomplished.

The lessons he just learned from standing in line, by interacting with the cashier as well as the pride of getting what he wanted help with self-confidence big time. Now, he does not allow me to buy him food, but he wants to buy his own.

We live in a busy world with so many distractions, and it becomes easier for parents to stop paying attention to their children, however, I feel this is also the best time to help your child become different in a right way. If you have an opportunity to go hiking, eating in a restaurant, or just letting your child pay for the thing they want, you will be able to help them with self-confidence. It’s all about the choices we make.