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I decided to ask my children to define self-esteem.  My middle daughter replied, “It has to do with bullying.”  My eldest replied, “confidence, being ok with self, loving yourself.”  My youngest replied, “hmmmm….something to do with plants.  You know, they have stems!”  I immediately began rubbing and shaking my head.  Being the mommy I am, we stopped to discuss vowel sounds.  Wow!  A mommy fail moment.

When I asked my kids this question, I was expecting a different response.  I mean, we talk about self-esteem, bullying, and education all the time.  But, something I forget as a parent is kids are kids.  They may know certain things, but depending on the situation, their attention, the wording of the question, etc. , they may not answer correctly.  Two of the three were on the right track.  After speaking with each of my kids, I went back and asked my middle daughter to elaborate.  She said she associates self-esteem with bullying because bullies usually have issues and don’t like themselves.

So, I decided to visit the web to see how the “professionals” define self-esteem.  First up, good ole google: confidence in one’s own worth or abilities; self-respect. I also had to hop over to Wikipedia:  self-esteem reflects a person’s overall subjective emotional evaluation of his or her own worth. It is a judgment of oneself as well as an attitude toward the self.

Let’s break the definition of self-esteem down to help our little ones. When we talk about self-esteem, we think of how we feel about our self.  Not what anyone else thinks, says or tries to make us feel.  It’s all about YOU!  Yes, this is one time you can be a little selfish, but not in a mean way.  Just don’t allow others to control your self-worth or how you see and love yourself.

Remember the first word in Self-esteem, self. You, no one else.  How do you feel about yourself?  Know who you are.  Love you, no matter the situation.  Others WILL try to bring you down (I like to call them killjoy), but keep smiling and living.  Know your worth and don’t let anyone take that away.  Remind them that as they play on the playground, ride the bus or sit in class to be proud of who they are and what they stand for.

A Little Exercise To Help Boost Your Self-esteem each day

Here’s a little something I have my kids do (I do it too because it’s just not our youth dealing with self-esteem issues and killjoys).  Take a look in the mirror, say; “I LOVE MYSELF!” Smile and go out to conquer the world!

Know YOU, Be  YOU,  Love YOU     

This post originally posted to Preschool2teen on April 11, 2016. Preschool2teen and A Mom’sBllog has merged into this great new site, Mamas And Coffee.  Be sure to subscribe to be notified of new post hot off the presses.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

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