Student Wellbeing

Low self-esteem can be hard for young people, especially when they are doing things like starting high school, and forming new friendships.  It is common for them to feel stressed as a result of this. The below tips are designed for parents/carers to help their children feel more confident and less stressed. 

• Be approachable, even if you are busy. Research has shown that Australian children feel that they have no one at home to open up to.
• Talk about the difficulties they are facing; a caring conversation can go a long way. Discuss what solutions could work. 
• Encourage your child to focus on their strengths rather than their weaknesses. Negative self-talk is a common sign that a young person is feeling down. Help counter this by highlighting their good traits.
• Allow for both a relaxing and productive after-school and weekend routine. Make sure your child is using good time-management skills to tackle school tasks. Encourage your child to keep an open communication with their teachers, and to seek help when they need it. 
• Set a solid example. While it might sometimes feel like they don’t listen, young people copy behaviour. Be wary of putting yourself down. 
• Praise your child for their accomplishments but also highlight their efforts, even if they fail to reach the desired results. 
• Encourage them to be proud of themselves and keep trying- explain that everyone makes mistakes and its okay to fail but to try again. 
• Closely support your child through tough tasks. Conquering a difficult task is a real confidence booster, and by lending a hand you can help them reach their goal. 
• Sharing is caring. Open up about a time that where you lacked confidence or felt stressed, and how you overcame it. Your child will draw strength from your experiences.
• If you notice that your child is withdrawing and isolating, encourage them to attend family dinner time, or take a walk with you. Maintaining connection is key to the insight in what your child may be experiencing. If you feel that it is beyond what you can do, then encourage them to speak to the school counsellor.

Further information can be found by clicking on the ReachOut link below:

Peri Georgakakis

Student Wellbeing Leader