Toddlerhood and Sowing the First Seeds of Self-Esteem

The toddler stage can be a very trying time for parents. Our toddlers are becoming their own person, separate from us and on this journey of self-discovery all kinds of both wonderful and challenging changes are happening before our eyes. Toddlers can be exasperating and unpredictable, draining us of patience. If there is a right time to become a conscious parent, now is the time because your little one is probably going to start doing the opposite of what you want them to do. You say "stop", they go, you say "come here", they go there. Sound familiar? When children hit their two's or "terrible two's" as some may call it; it is really important to get to know your toddler's temperament and individuality because they really are unique. What most people are unaware of is that all children are born with a blueprint and this blueprint has everything in it that a human being needs to thrive in the outside world, including what their talents and passions are. Then, as parents, we take over and, although unintentionally, we slowly distort and change our child's blueprint by imposing our own agenda onto them. By imposing our unrealistic expectations and demands on our little ones we crush their spirit.
One of the most important and amazing gifts we can give our children is the gift of self-esteem. The first seeds of self-esteem are sown within a child as early as two years-old. A midst all the confusion and messiness of the toddler stage, a toddler is beginning to form a self-concept, a concept of others and their world around them and it is up to us, as parents, to support them to develop a healthy and positive concept of these three things. This sounds like an enormous responsibility doesn't it? That's why full-time parents should be valued and never be insulted, either directly or indirectly. The effort and dedication put into self-esteem development in the first seven to eight years of a child's life, will have a significant impact on the way they see themselves, others and life. Self-esteem provides readiness to go out into the big, wide world and to thrive in it. By providing things like unconditional love, paying attention to their needs, teaching limits, allowing mistakes and failures to happen, supporting healthy risk taking and listening well, our toddlers will develop the self-confidence and self-discipline to thrive.
Helping our children to build a healthy self-esteem at a young age will serve them well when it comes to dealing with the challenges that inevitably present themselves from time to time because they will have the confidence, resilience, empathy, courage and charisma to overcome them and move forward.