Children can suffer from low self esteem at any age, just like adults. When you foster teens, this might be a common theme in your household. As their carer, it is your responsibility to find positive paths forward and help them with the negative feelings as well as the positive ones. Here are five ways to boost the confidence of your fostered teen and reaffirm positive confidence models.
Table of Contents
Give Authentic Praise
Praise is more meaningful if it comes from an authentic space. Disingenuine praise leads to a breakdown in trust and there is always something nice to say if you look hard enough. Teenagers are battling against their own brain chemistry a lot of the time. The mental and physical leaps they are going through are major and there are natural barriers that come along for the ride. You need to speak authentically and exude confidence, and stability, and offer praise where praise is due at any opportunity that presents. This will nurture a true connection and secure attachment.
Teach Them to Be Realistic
The ability to be realistic is not easily taught or received. It is dependent on so many things, but the basic theory can be implemented into the daily routine. Being realistic means having real goals that they can work towards and achieve. It also means moving within your capacity and striving to learn your strengths and weaknesses so you can get to know yourself. It’s okay to want to be a billionaire influencer, but that is not the reality for 99.8% of the Gen Z population. Hard work and dedication to a craft are very much still a thing to move with.
Model Self-Confidence
Be the change you want to impact. If you model self-confidence and move away from self-deprecation, your teen will see that and absorb it subconsciously. We learn from our environment and the behaviours around us. So, if you fill the air with positive affirmations, and express body confidence and resilience authentically, it will translate at some point.
Make Things a Team Effort
Whenever you foster any teen, it will always be a collaborative effort with your social worker team. There is so much valuable advice online, but you have to use an authentic source. Usually, your chosen agency will have informative content to fall back on, and fosterplus.co.uk is a great example of this. If you just need a little confidence boost yourself, start here. Widening the arena means your teen has a bigger support network, and there is no shame in showing that you want their confidence to be boosted by everyone around them. It will hopefully help them to feel supported from all sides too.
Encourage Growth
Building confidence is intertwined with building growth. Creating a growth goal is an excellent way to bolster self-esteem and make a teen feel more empowered about their personal trajectory in life. Help them find what they love in their soul and find a way to move with it.
Fostered teens often need a hand when it comes to building their confidence. As a carer, you have the knowledge to do this in such a positive, life-changing way.
