Self esteem part III – Ways to boost your child’s self esteem through play, feeding, and encounters with others

Ways to boost your child’s self esteem according to age: 

12 months old:

• Allow your child to feed himself finger-foods and his bottle
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16 months old:

• Allow your child to use a fork to spear food
• Let him decide whether or not he wants to eat, don’t force

1 – 2 year olds:

• Encourage parallel play with peers
• Plan playdates and outings ahead
• On play dates try not to leave until your child is ready
• Encourage your child to stay in the play group
• Don’t push him to share his toys but teach him about taking turns
• Let other children teach him – you may need to intervene sometimes  but wait a bit to see if he can work it out

3 – 5 year olds:

• Reward your child for success in learning to play with others
• Encourage 1 or 2 regular buddies or play mates that he gets to know well to understand and rely on as friends
• They will give him a feeling of being competent with other people. They will teach him to share and be considerate of other people’s feelings.

If you have any concerns about your child’s self esteem contact us at (323)655-5580.  We are here to help!