In Catholic education, we acknowledge the parents as the first and foremost educators of their children. At our College, we know first hand, that when we work in partnership, we strengthen our children to achieve academic success and grow as individuals. To support you as parents and to help your child continue to build a healthy sense of confidence, you may find the tips below helpful.

1. MODEL CONFIDENT THINKING: as parents (and teachers) we role model our actions and thinking to children. Next time you have a difficult task to work through, model positive thinking out aloud strategies for your child. e.g. "I'll have a go at this. If I don't do so well, I can try it again tomorrow".
2. FOCUS ON EFFORT AND IMPROVEMENT: Current thinking shows that people who believe that they can increase their intelligence through effort and challenge, actually do better in school, work and life over time. One way is to focus your parenting language on effort and improvement, rather than on the results of what they do. By linking success with effort you are teaching them that success comes from something other than their natural ability, talents or smarts.
3. PRAISE STRATEGY: Children need to look for different ways to do things, or ask others for help when they are stuck. They need a range of strategies to be life long learners, not just effort. Praising your child for tackling a task by thinking about a different way to do it, builds their capacity.
4. DEVELOP SELF HELP SKILLS FROM AN EARLY AGE: Self-esteem often comes as a result of your child's successes and accomplishments. Self help skills are the building blocks of which organisation and social skills are built upon. When your child is finding something difficult to do, the following language could be used- "Have you though of a different way to do that?" "I see this is frustrating you right now. Take some big deep breaths and then try again."
5. BELIEVE IN YOUR CHILD AND LET THEM KNOW IT: Great parents have a knack of communicating confidence in kids. They find ways to let kids know that they believe in them- that they know their kids will perform and succeed; that they have faith that they can deal with life's challenges and know that they can become more independent.
6. PROBLEM SOLVE: If your child is having difficulties with a social issue at school, take some time to allow them to talk to you about this. This is also a great opportunity to brainstorm different ways your child could respond to the situation differently. It is also an opportunity to help them look a the scenario from the perspective of the other students involved. This can lead to help them identify the part they may be playing and work through this with you, your parent.
7. OFFER UNCONDITIONAL LOVE: Our children need to know that as parents, they will be loved unconditionally. We don't have to 'like' all the choices they make, but love remains constant.

We will go into more detail on each of these 7 points of Confidence throughout the term. Stay tuned!

Bridget Rillie
Assistant Principal: Wellbeing Junior