14 SELF-ESTEEM DYNAMICS FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS - ARTE - 2024

Self -esteem dynamics are one of the best ways to improve the level of self-confidence and the quality of life in children, adolescents, and even adults. When we feel good about ourselves, it is much easier to develop positive relationships, achieve what we set out to do, enjoy the little things and obtain the results we want in all areas of our day to day life.

Unfortunately, many people do not have the luxury of strong and healthy self-esteem. This occurs for a large number of different reasons: from bad experiences in the past, such as the presence of irrational or harmful beliefs, there are many factors that can make our self-concept less positive than we would like.

One of the main focuses of the field of psychology (especially currents such as positive or cognitive behavioral) is precisely to help people improve their levels of self-esteem. To do this, many different dynamics have been created over the years that can cause individuals who apply them to develop a better opinion of themselves.

But if there is a time when having good self-esteem is especially important, it is during childhood and adolescence. Young people face a number of specific difficulties that can make their self-concept more negative than normal. Therefore, in this article we bring you a list of self-esteem dynamics specially designed for people in this age group.

Dynamics of self-esteem for children

Childhood is a perfect time to start teaching your children how to value themselves properly. The minds of the little ones are normally more flexible and open than that of adults, so if they start working on their self-esteem at this point it will be easier for them to create the basis for an adequate self-concept throughout their lives.

The activities described below will allow you to help your children develop good self-esteem, which will assist them during difficult times and when they are facing difficult obstacles and challenges.

- «Something about me»: complete self-esteem phrases

Although this activity can be used by both children and adults, it is more effective when used with the little ones in the house. "Something About Me" is a self-esteem dynamic that tries to help them identify their most positive traits and characteristics, in addition to realizing what they have been achieving so far.

The operation of this dynamic is very simple: on a sheet of paper, write the beginning of several sentences that the child will have to complete later. All of them are related to positive aspects of the child's life, in such a way that as she is filling them in she will have to reflect on her strengths.

Some examples of phrases that can be used in this activity are as follows:

- «My friends believe they appreciate it because…».

- «My classmates say I'm good at…».

- «I feel very happy when I…».

- «Something I am very proud of is…».

- «Something that makes me unique is…».

The key to doing this exercise correctly is to use simple and accessible language, so that children can focus on reflecting on their strengths without making a great effort. This activity should be carried out calmly, giving the little one time to inquire about what makes him special.

- «Things I like about myself»

This dynamic of self-esteem for children is designed to help the little ones understand that differences not only do not have to be bad, but in many cases they make us special beings and therefore are something positive.

To carry it out, parents or educators have to be in charge of explaining to children the difference between outer and inner beauty. This can be done for example as follows:

«You are beautiful because you are unique, both inside and out. Look within yourself, at your personality; See what you can do, the way you treat others, and who you are, and then write a list of five things you like about yourself.

Normally, the tendency of children who do this activity is to start writing about factors of their physique that they like about themselves, such as their hair or their eyes. This in itself does not have to be bad, but if you want the dynamics to have the best possible effect, make sure that at least two or three of the traits that children point to are purely internal.

- "I'm great because…"

This dynamic of self-esteem for children can help the little ones to realize what makes them good and attractive people, and in this way allow them to build a solid foundation for their self-concept.

Similar to the "Something About Me" activity, this dynamic is carried out by completing sentences that help children to reflect on themselves. However, unlike the first, the phrases of "I'm great because" focus exclusively on what the participants themselves think about themselves.

When reflecting on aspects that they value about their own personality and personality, children can turn to this list when they are feeling bad or when they believe that they are not enough for some reason. In this way, the value of dynamics is extended over time, and it will help them to solve their difficulties more effectively.

Some of the questions that can be included in the list are the following:

- «I like who I am because…».

- «I'm especially good at…».

- «Something that I really enjoy is…».

- «What I would like to achieve in the future is…».

- «I think I can get what I want because…».

- Self Esteem Journal for Kids

Most research on self-esteem indicates that focusing on the positive situations in our life is one of the most important factors when it comes to maintaining an adequate self-concept. To achieve this, one of the most effective activities is the use of a self-esteem journal.

In one of these diaries, the person has to write down all those positive experiences that have occurred during the day. These can be directly related to some action you have taken, or simply to the pleasant moments you have experienced. Both types of posts can be very helpful in enhancing mood and self-concept.

The main problem with this activity is that children usually do not have experience with free writing, so it can be very difficult for them to finish the entries daily without help. For this reason, in the version for children the diary is filled in based on three or four questions that are repeated every day and that are related to the objective of this dynamic.

Some of the questions that can be included in the journal include the following:

- "What have I done today that made me feel proud?"

- "What was especially fun or interesting today?"

- "How have I helped other people today?"

- Game of stars

Each child is given a star that they must color with their favorite color. On it they should write their name and the three things they like to do the most.

Once everyone has finished, the stars are exchanged with the partner next to them. Each one will read aloud what the other partner likes to do but without saying the name. The teacher will ask who that star corresponds to.

This activity requires the child to reflect on what he enjoys doing the most. The fact of reading aloud the likes of another partner favors the integration of their preferences with those of others.

The teacher's question, as to who that star belongs to, will reinforce the child's sense of identity. "That star is mine," is like saying, that's me.

- Professions game

Ask each child to select two jobs or professions that they would like to do. In screening guidance, ask them to consider what they like and what they think is the best they can do.

Then make a list of the chosen professions and organize a day of "theater performance". Each will do the job you have selected.

For example, the firefighter will pretend to put out a fire, the nurse will treat a sick person, etc. After each performance ask the whole group to applaud each partner.

This is a good opportunity for the teacher to highlight in front of the group the strengths and talent that each one has demonstrated in their role.

- The envelope game

Each child is given a sheet and an envelope. On the sheet you must write three defects that you recognize in yourself. They can also be characteristics that they don't like about themselves and that they would like to change. Then they put the list inside the envelope and close it.

That envelope will have your name on it. They pass it on to the colleague next door and he must write down three qualities or virtues that he recognizes in the person on the envelope.

This will be written on the outside. Then said about he passes it on to the partner on the right and he will do the same.

The game will end when the envelope reaches the owner of said envelope.

The purpose of this game is to show everyone that although they have flaws, they also have many virtues. In fact, each partner recognizes different virtues, perhaps some coincident. But in any case it will be more than the defects that he has identified.

In this game, defects are not shared, looking for the participant to be pleasantly surprised by all the good that others recognize in him.

Self-esteem dynamics for teens

The ideal is to start working on self-esteem from early childhood; but still, this can also be very helpful in adolescence. In this section we bring you several dynamics specifically designed to be used by teenagers and young adults.

- List of affirmations

Affirmations are one of the most popular tools to combat low self-esteem in adults and adolescents. This dynamic is based on writing between ten and twenty positive sentences about oneself, and repeating them daily until a point is reached where they have been internalized.

Sentences must be focused on the future, and be constructed in a positive way. In this way, the person can focus on what she wants to achieve, and become aware that her goals are really achievable. Thus, some examples could be the following:

- "I can confidently speak to strangers."

- "I exercise every day and I feel better about myself."

- «My grades improve little by little because I study daily».

Once the list is complete, it is best to read it two or three times out loud every day, preferably before going to bed or after waking up.

- Self-acceptance practice

One of the habits that most damage self-esteem is comparing yourself with other people. No matter how well we do everything, how attractive we are, or what skills we acquire: there will always be someone better than us. Therefore, to achieve a bulletproof self-concept, it is necessary to learn to accept yourself as you are.

One of the best dynamics to achieve this is to change the focus of our comparisons. Instead of focusing on how someone else is better than us, we can start comparing ourselves to how we were a while ago. For example, if a teenager is watching his diet to lose weight, instead of looking at photos of models it will be much more useful to look at his own from months ago.

To improve self-esteem more effectively, this same principle can be used to perform structured dynamics. This would consist of asking questions such as the following in relation to different areas of life:

- "What can I do today to be better than yesterday?"

- "What am I working on and how will it help me improve?"

- "What have I done today to feel proud of myself?"

- Steps towards trust

This dynamic is designed to be used when the person has to face a problem but their self-esteem is lower than would be desirable. It is divided into three parts. In the first, the individual has to reflect on a situation in which he could face a challenge and emerge victorious from it.

The second part involves thinking about the current situation, in which confidence is not as high as it should be; and study what are the differences in terms of thoughts, feelings and actions with the first.

Finally, in the third part of the exercise, the young person must reflect on how they can achieve the same mental state that they had in the first situation they thought about. What questions would it be useful to ask yourself? Are there any activities that could help you change your mood?

- The best version of yourself

This self-esteem dynamic is designed so that those who perform it can reflect on their strengths and realize all the positive traits they have when they are at their best. To do this, use a tool known as storytelling.

What is the practice? Basically, the person has to try to remember a situation in which they consider that they were behaving like the best version of themselves. While you are narrating it, your goal is to identify the behaviors and values ​​that you consider important, and that were present during that situation.

Once the narrative is finished, the individual should reflect on how they can apply those behaviors and values ​​to the challenges they are currently facing. By doing so, it will be much easier for you to feel confident and act despite present difficulties.

- Before die

The objective of this activity is to make those who do it realize what their objectives are, and how they are connected with their values. In this way, they can develop an action plan that matches their personality and helps them become who they really want to be.

This dynamic of self-esteem is very simple: it is about creating a list of activities or achievements that the person would like to carry out before dying. In addition to this, in the second part you should also try to identify why you want to get each of the items on the list.

In this way, in addition to clarifying their values, the participant can also have a map that indicates what the next step is in building their self-esteem.

- Modify negative thoughts

The last dynamic of self-esteem that we are going to look at is drawn from the teachings of positive psychology. Its objective is to help young people and adolescents to accept their failures and the challenges they face, in such a way that these do not have a negative impact on their self-concept.

The dynamics itself is very simple. First, the person has to describe a situation that has negatively affected their self-esteem. For example, you might say something like, "A friend made me wait for more than 15 minutes." Next, you will need to identify which negative ideas came up during the moment. Continuing with the example, the individual might have thought that his friend did not respect him.

The last part of the exercise is the most important. Instead of being carried away by their initial judgment and the emotions it provokes, the individual has to be able to look objectively at the situation and think of other possible explanations for what has happened that do not lead them to believe that it is invalid or invalid. that there is something wrong with him.

This dynamic is very useful for developing a skill known as "cognitive flexibility", one of the most important factors for good self-esteem and high levels of well-being.

- Who likes who

This activity is ideal to consider among teenagers. In them, aesthetics and image are usually a key element when talking about self-esteem.

Each participant is given a sheet with the name of a partner. Each one should write down the three things they like most about that person. Everyone has to choose three physical or personal characteristics that they like about the partner who has touched them.

Then the teacher will put all the sheets together and read each of the attributes aloud anonymously. The fact that it is anonymous will encourage you to express what you would not otherwise be.

Asking them to name three things they like will help them see that everyone has something positive and enjoyable.

In addition, they will realize that not everything goes through the physical. At the same time, when each one of them has the turn to listen to their qualities, they will feel very happy. Even surprised to know aspects of himself that others value as positive.

Other dynamics of interest

Group dynamics for young people.

Assertive communication dynamics.

Motivational dynamics.

Dynamics of emotional intelligence.

Group integration dynamics.

Dynamics of creativity.

Trust dynamics.

Leadership dynamics.

Dynamics of conflict resolution.

Dynamics of values.

Presentation dynamics.

Teamwork dynamics.

References

1. "Essential strategies for raising a confident teen" in: VeryWell Family. Retrieved on: October 27, 2019 from VeryWell Family: verywellfamily.com.
2. "Self esteem" in: Kids Health. Retrieved on: October 27, 2019 from Kids Health: kidshealth.org.
3. "How to help children and teens develop self esteem" in: Child Develpment. Retrieved on: October 27, 2019 from Child Development: childdevelopmentinfo.com.
4. "7 ways to help build your teens self esteem" in: Quick and Dirty Tips. Retrieved on: October 27, 2019 from Quick and Dirty Tips: quickanddirtytips.com.
5. "18 Self-Esteem Worksheets and Activities for Teens and Adults" in: Positive Psychology. Retrieved on: October 27, 2019 from Positive Psychology: positivepsychology.com.