Building Confidence by Age: Babies

Here's how to build the confidence of your baby.

All parents have dreams for their infants when they are born.

They give them names that are strong and dream that they will be successful someday. They involve their families so their grandparents can get to know their new grandchildren and foster family traditions that will help their children learn about their family history and create their own traditions and they teach their babies how much they are loved. What about confidence? Are parents thinking that as their babies grow they can be building their confidence? This trait is very important and parents can do this very simply and sometimes without thinking about it.

All parents want to put their newborn on a routine to fit their lifestyle and to give their newborn enough rest, food, love etc. The first thing on the list to building confidence is by creating a routine that a baby knows is going to be predictable. When a baby is bathed, fed and knows their schedule for bed, this is how they grow. Babies feel safe and can focus on learning skills according to their age. For instance, they can find their hands and feet, watch their parents and giggle and talk because they don’t have anything to worry about when their routine is predictable.

The next important item on the list is to make sure your baby’s needs are taken care of. This helps your baby learn that you are actually using your ears to listen to their needs. They begin to build trust in their parents because they understand what they want. This helps build confidence because your baby knows they are important to you.

Babies under six months old start to reach for objects.

They may try over and over but when they finally succeed, they realize they have mastered something important. Parents should create small challenges to help build confidence in their baby. Take the toy and move it a bit further away from them. The baby may be irritated for a while but once they learn to grab that toy, they are happy again because they are building confidence in their new independence. This is a great way to teach babies so they realize they are getting better at mastering their new techniques.

When parents give their baby age-appropriate toys and they are testing their cognitive abilities, praise them if they can figure out what the toy does. Give them encouragement so they know that they are doing the right thing and feel safe while doing something new. If they succeed at finding their nook and putting this in their mouth, give them a hug and a baby can feel acceptance too even if they don’t always succeed. It’s try, try again until they do succeed and this will build their confidence.

Everyone learns through mistakes. Babies don’t understand that they are really a person until they are about a year and a half. Then they start finding out what they like and if they are good at playing with certain toys. This is when babies become more independent and start wanting to do everything by themselves. This age can be challenging for parents when they don’t want help getting dressed or they refuse to wear what you chose for them. In addition, your baby might not quite be able to fully dress themselves yet. The best thing to do is not to help them solve their problems if your child can’t find the right way to put a shape in the container. You can give them ideas until they figure out where the piece goes. This is when your baby is all smiles and builds more confidence because they did it themselves. In addition, don’t run and play the rescuer because this will limit your baby’s confidence.

Another idea for building confidence is don’t over do it on following them around and jumping up and down with joy when they keep accomplishing small tasks. You don’t want your baby thinking everything they do is absolutely the end. This might just cause them problems later on in the classroom and even at their job. Your baby will grow into a small child that expects wonderful praise each time they accomplish one thing in school or later on in adulthood. This might take away from their confidence when you are not around and create a sullen child.

When the baby takes their first steps, this is an exciting moment but let them walk on their own. It’s ok to praise them when they first take a few steps but actually waiting for them to toddle through the living room calls for some extra special praise. Parents get so excited when their child takes their first steps that most kids fall down. Try and keep the excitement down to praise so your baby gains the confidence to keep trying new things, even if they do fall down.

When your baby reaches that age that they begin to pull themselves up, you are going to want your baby to have that confidence. If you are worried about coffee tables because they are going to bump their head, then move them for a while and let your child pull themselves up on something soft or even your leg. After they realize what they have accomplished, they will keep trying this again and again. Kids are going to fall and this is normal. This is how they learn and build up their confidence to try again.

There are times when your baby is still going to want you to feed them and nurture them because they still want to be a baby. Don’t become worried because your child will still reclaim their independence at a later time. These are the challenges of building confidence in your baby. Make sure you are aware and listen to their emotions when they cry out for you and don’t expect them to keep walking if they just took a few steps. All children are different and develop at their own pace.