Self-Esteem refers to an individual’s sense of his or her value or worth, or the extent to
which a person values, approves of, appreciates, prizes, or likes him or herself (Blascovich & Tomaka, 1991). Rosenberg (1965) defines self-esteem as the “totality of the individual’s thoughts and feelings with reference to himself as an object” According to Rosenberg self-esteem is a favourable or unfavourable attitude toward the self.
We can say in general that self-esteem is the extent to which we approve of and respect ourselves, how much we appreciate and like ourselves. It’s our personal evaluation of our own worth, and may not reflect our actual talents and abilities.
According to a study done by Stanley Coopersmith(1967), self-esteem takes form in early childhood having a foundation of trust, unconditional love and security. The child’s thoughts and perceptions about his own self, the kind of experiences he has at home, school, neighbourhood, put an impact on his self-esteem. The kind of feedback and reactions he receives from parents, teachers, friends, relatives, neighbours etc help in the development of positive self-esteem or negative self-esteem. Positive remarks given by his teacher can raise his level of confidence which surely impacts his self-esteem. Thus the kind of environment the child is raised in, contributes highly to the development of his self-esteem. Parents should never compare their child’s qualities or behaviours with others. They should make the child feel loved, heard and be a role model for their child, as the children love imitating their elders. Giving the kids small responsibilities or tasks to do like dusting the table, arranging the bookshelf will make them feel important and useful. At school, competitions need to be organized in such a manner where including winners all participants are motivated. This will really boost the self-esteem of students and they will be actively involved in all tasks like completing homework, keeping themselves active and engaged during study hours. Thus good and positive feedback makes the child feel worthy of himself, accepts helpful criticism, becomes more confident, is able to express properly and develops healthy relationships with himself and others. On the contrary, kids with low self-esteem will lack the confidence to speak, will be unable to express their needs, doubt themselves whether they can do something well, become self-critical, frustrated and anxious, and all these will hamper their overall well-being. Thus self -esteem can be built in every child following very easy steps that will surely have a marvellous impact in his entire journey of LIFE.
“The powerful tool of self-esteem is like a child’s armour, which assists to face life’s challenges with fortitude and resilience and in process lays the foundation on which a child’s future is built.”
