Boosting your teen’s confidence can be a challenge, especially during adolescence when teens struggle with challenges such as a negative self-image or lack of a strong self-concept. Building a stable sense of self is an important developmental milestone, and the sooner your teen can create a positive self-image the better their chances of resisting peer pressure or avoiding risky activities.
Starting self-esteem building activities for teens can help them hit the ground running and create the positive self-image they need to grow and thrive in their emerging adulthood.
We help at-risk teens find a better way to live. Learn more about Project Eden at Horizon Services.
The Importance of a Positive Self-Image
A teen’s self-image is critical to their healthy development. Teens who are confident, self-assured, and show self-compassion are more likely to experience a sense of mastery, competence, and overall well-being.
In contrast, those with a negative self-image may be at higher risk of developing mental health challenges or experimenting with substance use. Teens with low self-esteem may seek out substance-using peers as a way to find acceptance, cope with mental health stressors, or artificially enhance their self-image through drugs and alcohol.
Boosting Your Teen’s Confidence
Prevention science has shown that building a positive self-image is possible. But critically, the path to creating a healthy self-image isn’t through positive affirmations or forced positive self-talk.
Confidence is built by competence. If you want to avoid your teen having a negative self-image, you need to help them determine their values, develop their personal and interpersonal skills, and learn to navigate the challenges of adolescence.
Actionable Strategies to Improve Your Teen’s Self-Esteem
Starting the path to improving your teen’s confidence is a process of helping them build competence in the skills and tasks that are most important to people their age. Some of the best strategies to foster a healthy self-image include:
Building Communication and Social Skills
The adolescent brain is wired to prioritize socialization, seemingly above all else. As such, a teen’s healthy self-image depends largely on having positive friendships and a feeling of social acceptance.
Helping your teen cultivate strong communication skills can help them find and maintain these important social connections. This could include:
- Teaching your teen how to be assertive
- Helping your teen avoid misunderstandings
- Showing your teen how to ask somebody on a date
- Walking your teen through real-life situations that can be uncomfortable
As simple as these tasks may sound, they are critical components of everyday life that have meaningful impacts on your teen’s self-esteem.
Goal Setting for Teens
Since confidence is built through competence, helping your teen determine his or her values, goals, and ambitions can be an important first step in determining where to help them build their skills.
A teen who is part of a sports team may find that the greatest boost to their positive self-image comes from improving their athletic ability. Teens who have a goal of becoming a scientist can improve their self-esteem through academic achievement.
Sit down with your teen to discuss what their goals are. What do they hope to accomplish in the next week, month, or year?
Of course, what your teen wants today may be different than what they want a month from now. Keep the conversation open, and regularly check in with their goals and how they’re working on improving.
Teaching Emotional Regulation
Adolescence is often fraught with emotional challenges and impulsive decision-making. If your teen lacks the skills to regulate their emotions, this can contribute to a low self-image that holds them back from taking on new challenges.
Teaching coping mechanisms for stress in teens can be a great way to start. This could be as simple as helping them pause before big decisions, or showing them healthier ways to deal with anxiety, frustration, or other emotional challenges.
The Rewards of Confidence and Self-Esteem
A person’s self-image can shape the way they approach the world for years to come. Developing your teen’s positive body image, personal growth, and self-esteem can help them avoid many of the common roadblocks to healthy teenage development.
By building a strong sense of confidence, your teen will come to know their place in the world, have the strength to take on challenges, and ultimately have a strong foundation of well-being to last the rest of their lives.
Project Eden offers counseling for teens and their families. Learn more about Project Eden at Horizon Services.
