Developing Children’s Self-esteem

Self-esteem is how a person feels about themselves and what they do.

Someone with positive self-esteem will generally approach things thinking they are a good person who deserves love and support and can succeed in life. Someone with low or negative self-esteem will generally think they are not good at things, don’t deserve love or support and that situations will work out badly for them. The purpose of the course is to raise awareness of the importance of self-esteem in the early years and throughout life and how childminders can support children to develop positive self-esteem in their daily practice.

This course aims to give childminders the support needed to:

• Define and explore self-esteem.
• Discover how a positive self-image affects a child.
• Look at the influence of adults on a child’s self-esteem.
• Promote the importance of positive reinforcement.

Key learning during this course includes understanding and explaining:

1. The term self-esteem and the typical characteristics or behaviour that may be observed from a child with low self-esteem compared to a child with higher self-esteem.
2. Why it is important for children to hold high self-esteem and the approach to take in supporting the development of children’s self-esteem.
3. The experiences/activities to offer within a childminding service that would develop and support children’s self-esteem.
4. How to use communication and language in a daily practice to support children’s self-esteem.
5. The importance of positive reinforcement and how to use this in daily practice.
6. How to deal with a challenging situation such as a child experiencing a sense of failure or disappointment that supports the building of resilience.
7. How to ensure children are listened to, take their views/feelings on board and respond to them in a positive manner.

Course outcomes: When you have completed this course, your core knowledge and understanding will include:

1. How and where to access information and support that can inform a childminding practice when supporting children and young people to promote their own mental health needs.
2. How to access Government reports, inquiries and research reports into children and young people that especially relate to mental health needs.
3. Theories relevant to the children and young people with whom you work about loss and change and the effects of stress and distress.
4. The importance of stable family, adult and peer relationships and the impact of disruption, including placement disruption.
5. The conditions and issues likely to be faced working with children and young people, and parents, families and carers.
6. Sources of information, resources and advice available to promote the positive mental health development of children and young people and how to access these.