How can I instill confidence in my (7 year old) child in the academic areas where he struggles?

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Permalink Reply by DadsUnlimited on February 6, 2009 at 4:57pm

Reply by Justine on 11 December 2008 at 4:53pm

Constantly praise him. For whatever he does & praise him for being also e.g. you look lovely in that top, your eyes are so sparkly, you're looking very handsome today. So he doesn't have to do anything to earn your praise.
Praise his efforts in everything he does wether academically or otherwise, wether he suceeds or not.
Spend time with him.
Confidence, when you have it, spills over into all parts of your life, so if he is generally confident it will help him academically.
Look for ways to build his self esteem & don't put too much pressure on him.

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Permalink Reply by Dave on February 9, 2009 at 12:24am

DasUnlimited
I am not sure that may be truein all cases. I have the same issue. I have a son who as a child wanted to be in all activities and try to answer all questions, he will raise his hand up for everything. But, unfortunately he did not know the answer for most of them. This made him become unsure of himself. When he entered school, he became very quiet, and did not participate in the class. Eventhough he was intelligent he had some difficulty when it came to learning. We have tried to work with him and he has improved significiantly. But any time he gets an answer wrong in school, he becomes unsure of himself. I am concerned about this, and do not know what to do. If I am to praise him for everything, it is possible that it will boost his confidence, and it may spill over to academics. But I am not convinced this may the best approach, because he is being praised even when he is not great, and this will give a false sense of being "good". In my opinion, a child rasied this way may fail to thrive in college or in life, because there is no one to give "false" praises at that time.
Again, I am not sure, what the correct answer is. Any response or suggestions are welcome.
Thanks.

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