Personality Source

Is building self esteem for teens different from that of a child? The answer is yes because you’re grown up already and you now have the responsibility of choosing between right and wrong.

One of the challenges of being a teen is that your friends will put a lot of pressure on you. If you decide to go against them, it could hurt your friendship with them which is why they sometimes do things that they do not normally to make sure they belong with the “in crowd.”

When you ask an adult and a teen what is the definition of self esteem, both will say something different. For parents, this is the way we look at ourselves but to the teen, it’s how they want people to look at who they are.

As you can see, the two answers do not match and the reason for this is the age gap. Adults have already been through a lot in life and their experience has shown them the path. But then, teens are still in that period of discovery and they’ll most likely commit several mistakes before becoming more mature in their lives.

Given that both see it differently, it doesn’t yet excuse the parents to try and steer their sons or daughters in the correct path. The best way to do that is to be open to their teens and be around when they’re needed especially when they’re confused.

If the teen gets into trouble, the parents will have to correct the improper behavior. While most parents scold their kids the instant something happens, they should remember that it’s more effective to them like adults because they’re no longer babies. By explaining to them what they did and making them understand the repercussions of their actions, they’ll not make the same mistake again.

But is it just the parents who build the self esteem of the teens? The answer is no because teachers should do their share when these individuals come to school. Of course there are rules that the student must follow but by inspiring the teens to excel in their studies, the teacher can make sure that they’ll succeed in college and later on in life.

After all the support from the parents, the teachers and the friends, the teen will soon realize that they’ll be the ones that will have to develop their self esteem.