A few weeks ago I spoke with a parent about her child’s academic progress and she was greatly concerned about her daughters’ confidence and self-esteem. Since the beginning of 5th grade, she has noticed a decline in her daughter’s confidence level. Her daughter has been down on herself and hasn’t been feeling very positive; in fact mom described her daughter as being “very negative and down” towards her overall life and school skills.   Mom was distraught and overwhelmed with sadness and was not sure how to help her daughter. Mom asked me, “I always tell my kid how proud I am of her, do you have any suggestions on ways that I can praise her as to help build her confidence?” I gave her some ways to praise her child at home and gave her some ideas on how to help support her at home and how to get the school involved. However, this conversation really stayed with me over the past several weeks. I kept thinking, how many parents are going through the same struggles with their child? How can other parents help their children develop a sense of confidence and empowerment? How can parents help their children […]