One of the most critical skills teenagers have to learn is how to be confident in themselves. They have to understand that they can take a risk and not only survive the risk but thrive on it.
If we want to raise confident teenagers, we should probably focus on those they spend most of their time with,
their families. It turns out that there are some significant differences between the families of highly confident teens and those of average or low-confidence teens.
Unconfident kids come from families with a lot of criticism; parents do not take the time to explain and make a big deal out of mistakes. Confident kids, by contrast, come from families where parents make an effort to understand what makes their kids tick and make sure they know what is expected of them and how they are doing.
As parents, we do them a disservice if we protect them from ever having a setback. Likewise, we harm them if we do not teach them how to handle rejection because life will be full of setbacks.
The best way to teach teenagers confidence is by example. For example, a teenager who sees her parents taking risks is more likely to take risks herself. Likewise, a teenager who sees her parents encountering setbacks is more likely to believe she can handle setbacks herself, too."
Another way to teach them confidence is by showing them that you believe in them, accepting them the way they are because they are enough. Then, remove the criticism and ask the question, how could the situation be handled better?
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