Building Self Esteem Among Teens

Every parent, ideally, would like their child to develop enough Self-Esteem so that they can
succeed in life. This all starts the moment a child emerges from birth, and continues as the
child ventures out into the world, as they mature into adulthood.
Studies show that there are two ways in Self-Esteem is defined by adults. This is how adults
can perceive oneself, to others. Teens, on the other hand, feel that if they are to fit in with the
rest of their peers, they have to act cool and join in with others.
Is there a reason for this difference? This could be due to the age gap as adults have had time
to experience more and can distinguish between important matters against trivial ones.
Teenagers are still in the learning Process and finding their feet.
So, what changes should adults make in order to continue to build up Self-Esteem in a
teenager? Teens are in the age of discovery, so the best thing an adult can do is to be open to
answering any questions on particular subjects, and support each individual in the choices that
they make.
For example, if a teenager wants to try out for the football team, parents hope for the best for
them that things will work out fine. Others, will want to look out for their child and try to avoid
them hurting themselves in any kind of sport.
Parents also discipline a teenager for any wrong behavior which is another part of building Self-
Esteem. They should explain why they have done something wrong which is better than yelling,
to enable the individual to understand what is unacceptable behavior, in the hope that they will
not make the same mistake again.
Another way of to build Self-Esteem, is that parents should know when to comfort their child
when things don't quite work out. If parents decide that they have to go their separate ways, a
teenager will feel devastated if a couple breaks up, as it is their first love which comes from both
parents. All parents can do is say that everything will work itself out in the end, and maybe,
someone better will come along in the future.
Self-Esteem does not come from just the parents; it also comes from teachers your child meets
when they start school and those that are considered friends by the teenager. Other adults then
hold the responsibility of 'molding their child' into respectable adults.
Friends are very much like parents, in being able to offer comfort if their son or daughter feels
they are too ashamed to open up to them about certain issues in life.
By building Self-Esteem, this helps the teenager to evolve. A person can change if they feel
the need, or they can stay where they are if they happy - their 'comfort zone'. Life doesn't
always turn out as one would expect, so this is gives the perfect chance to start afresh, as
though giving oneself a new lease of life.
An individual eventually learns that Self-Esteem is innate, once they have discovered their
strengths and weaknesses. They can adapt by focusing on what they are good at, and learn to
acquire new 'tricks' to improve on those weak points as they come across them.
It is true to say, that when all else fails and the teenager feels like they have a heavy load on
their shoulder, it is the parents that they can turn to. This is the biggest responsibility of being a
parent, and once their son or daughter grows up and ,maybe, decides that is time to have their
own children, the guardians can take a break.