Why Children Need to Understand The Concept of Self Worth?

“ I am not sure if I should tell Mrs. Caroll about my idea about the cookout.” My 12-year-old niece tells me as I prepare evening tea as she stands beside me near the kitchen counter narrating her day at school and the troubles she encountered during the day. “Tell her your idea, why are you hesitating?” I ask. “I don’t know if she’s going to like it. You know, she always calls you to the front of the class and asks to share the ideas with the other kids.” She tells me. “That’s wonderful, it’s a good practice to share ideas with others.” I tell her. “Yes, but some children laugh.” She says with a sigh. “So? Let them laugh.” I tell her. “You don’t understand, it’s embarrassing.”

A lot of children hesitate to express themselves fully in front of the class or any other form of gathering. Whether it’s a classroom, playground or an activity on a modular playground equipment, children can sometimes find it hard to be expressive, especially with the ideas. Lack of self confidence can hinder a child’s academic and personal success.

What Defines Self Worth?

Merriam Webster defines self worth as “a feeling that you are a good person who deserves to be treated with respect.” Other definitions of self worth include:

“The sense of one's own value or worth as a person; self-esteem; self-respect.”

“The value one assigns to oneself or one's abilities in self assessment.”

“The sense of one’s own value or worth as a person.” 

Children need to understand that their opinion matters. They need to be fearless and direct with their communication regardless of the situation.

How do we allow our children to be fearless? We need to let them know that they matter; whatever they think matters; their opinion matters, and, most importantly, their participation in activities matters.