Self-Esteem in Children

Healthy self-esteem in children is a God-given right. Unfortunately, healthy self-esteem in children can be stolen from them by circumstances and events beyond their control. One theme of my memoir, Following the Whispers is how lack of self-esteem in children can affect their lives.

Self-esteem in children can be hard to trace. Most of my childhood is a blur, but I imagine this is close to what must have gone on between my mother and me one night back in 1952, when I was little more than three years old. I’ll never forget the large, semi-circular green chair that stood in the corner of our living room. I loved curling up in it, listening to books being read to me. At least I did before my mother used it to punish me. After I refused to go to bed one night, Mom forced me into that big green chair and told me to stay. If I started to fall asleep, she slapped me across the face to wake me up. This went on all night long. This is one example of damaging self-esteem in children.

“You never resisted going to sleep at bedtime again,” Mom would say when she retold that story, quite proud of her parenting skills.

This is one example of how self-esteem in children is destroyed. Mom’s way of handling my toddler rebellion did, indeed, keep me from disobeying, but it also broke my spirit.

Self-esteem in children comes from positive nurturing. My parents, along with others in the 1950s, did not know this. Following the Whispers chronicles my journey from self-hatred to self-love. It shows how negative self-esteem in children impacts choices, as well as how positive self-esteem in children comes into being.

Want to know more about self-esteem in children? Get your copy of Following the Whispers today!