Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Boosting Your Child's Self Esteem



*Sorry for using this post again, it just meant so much to my daughter. It's a cheap and easy thing to do to show your child that you care, and you could make a book on any subject!

When I started working with Shayla on her selective mutism issue (an official label for being painfully shy to the extreme!), I started uncovering that she has an underlying poor self-esteem issue about herself.

I believe that it was because of her skin condition and food allergies.
I'm not a therapist. For that matter, I don't even have a college degree. I'm just a mother who loves her children and I try to be very "in-tune" with them.


I tried talking with her about these things, but she didn't want to discuss them. So, I wrote her a book about herself. Awhile back we were using Ed Emberley's Fingerprint Book for art, so I created people using this method.



She enjoys it tremendously. And the best part is, it has opened up her feelings. She has begun to talk to me and I have been able to offer her comfort in the form of hugs and kisses and reassuring words.

We still have a long ways to go, but this is what is working for me! Try this tip, with whatever your situation is, your kids will love it!
Book making is about as frugal as you can get, outside of visiting the library, but that's not as much fun! For other frugal tips, visit Crystal's.






























4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, this is awesome!! I am actually working on a scrapbook for my son's birthday to help him with this issue of self-esteem.

I am using the letters of the alphabet, which he loves, and different positive words that start with each letter, as well as a star theme throughout the book. I am really excited about it (I hope he will be too)!

Colleen said...

What a great book! Love the idea!

Lomagirl said...

This is great!

Anonymous said...

great book...wow.....you should be quite proud...and i'm sure reading it with her must have been quite the emotional moment..

my dd is a little different she has aspergers...so she talks, all the time and sometimes inapropriately..so it's hard..kinda the opposite i guess...
we are doing scouts too...aren't they awesome....

you're a great mom and i like your name!!!

Celina from Canada