Helping Children Like Themselves.

1. Teach your child to love and feel loved - express your love verbally and physically, love your children for themselves and not for their accomplishments.
2. Boost your child's feeling of importance - encourage them to take risks, emphasize the good, don't compare them to others.
3. Create opportunities for your child to succeed - choose activities carefully.
4. Support your child's activities.
5. Respect your child's opinions - listen respectfully to what he/she says.
6. Include your child in family decisions - hold family meetings.
7. Make special days (birthdays and holidays) really special - establish traditions.
8. Express appreciation to your children - give sincere praise.
9. Encourage independence in your child.
10. Develop realistic expectations for your child - overly high and overly low expectations discourage a child.
11. Make your child be responsible for himself/herself - don't do anything for your children  that they can and should do for themselves.
12. Be patient and non-critical.
13. Allow and encourage your child to explore the world - stimulate curiosity, try not to overprotect.
14. Allow a certain amount of disorder - establish a child centered home.
15. Help your child to be assertive - model assertiveness, saying no, standing up to others without verbal aggression.
16. Allow your children to make their own decisions - provide choices.
17. Spend "quality" time with your child - develop mutual interests.
18. Help your child with school responsibilities - provide appropriate help, establish a good relationship with the teacher.
19. Use bedtime effectively - develop routines, provide support and nurturance.
20. Teach your child to share you with others - adults need adult companionship and outlets.
21. Spend time together as a family.
22. Discipline your child effectively - set limits, provide consequences, be consistent.
23. Treat your child with courtesy and consideration.
24. Deal calmly and effectively with unpleasant emotions - anger, sadness, jealousy, fear.
25. Communicate effectively with your child - listen more than you talk.
26. Teach your child to value other people - appreciate differences and peoples good points.
27. Encourage creativity in your child - art, music, dance, storytelling, appreciating nature, imaginary play.
28. Help your child maintain good health and personal appearance.