Self-Esteem Is Part of Our Sense of Self

One important aspect of the sense of self is self-esteem. Self-esteem refers to a cluster of characteristics, such as feeling confident, having pride in oneself, and a sense of self-worth. A child’s self-esteem can be high or low. Children who feel that they are fundamentally a good person have high self-esteem. Children who feel that they are not as good as they could or should be have lower self-esteem. Having high self-esteem, a positive sense of self, can help children in everyday life.

Studies show that children who have positive self-esteem – who feel capable and have confidence that they can learn something – those children are likely to engage fully in learning something new. Children who have low self-esteem feel less confident in their own ability and will not engage as much.

They may even avoid an experience altogether, missing out on an opportunity to learn.

Having positive self-esteem is essential when the going gets tough. It can help provide a buffer from the difficulties and small setbacks that we all experience throughout our lives. And children experience a lot of setbacks! They constantly receive corrections from adults and teachers and they also make a lot of mistakes as they are learning and growing. For example, most preschoolers are not as skilled as their older siblings, who they often compare themselves to. And almost no 1st graders, or any of us really, consistently score 100% on tests. Having high self-esteem can help protect young children from feeling bad about everyday difficulties. It can also help them feel more confident about trying new things and learning new skills, even if they know they might not get it right at first.