Self-acceptance is the process of learning to accept yourself, with all of your strengths and weaknesses. It involves deeply understanding oneself, and leads to greater self-confidence, wellbeing, and emotional health. Until around the age of 8, a child cannot form a clear sense of self and learns self-acceptance from what is given to them by their parents. This conditional acceptance may lead to self-criticism and self-doubt as adults. For this reason, it is important to teach your child how to truly understand and accept themselves, for all of their positive qualities and flaws, from a young age.
“You really have to look inside yourself and find your own inner strength and say ‘I’m proud of what I am and who I am, I’m just going to be myself.’”
– Mariah Carey
How To Help Your Child Practice Self-Acceptance
- 1. Compliment your child’s positive qualities and abilities
- 2. Give your child permission to be their authentic self – without any judgement
- 3. Encourage your child to fail and learn from their mistakes
- 4. Discuss the future with your child and make them realize they are capable of whatever they set their mind to
- 5. Teach your child that they are not defined by their feelings and emotions and encourage them to think rationally about any problems they may face
- 6. Show them how to accept their mistakes and let go of any related feelings of guilt
- 7. Model self-compassion for them by taking care of yourself
Credits:
Author:
Pragya Lodha, MINDS Mumbai Program Director & Psychologist
Acknowledgements:
Ankita Gupta, MINDS Research Associate
Anoushka Thakkar, MINDS Research Associate
Roshni Dadlani, MINDS Communications Lead
References
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