How to Help Your Baby Build More Confidence

Babies are so fun to have around, and such a joy in their parents’ lives. Though they’re wonderful, of course, babies are also a lot of work. They have so much to learn and need to grow in so many ways, but they don’t have a paid, professional teacher. Rather, they have you, so it’s important to do your best by them. From a very young age, they learn so much from you, including how to feel inner confidence, so start now to teach them!

Introduce Them to New Environments

The first thing you can do to help your baby grow in confidence is to introduce them to new environments. So, as they grow a little older, you can help them build confidence by helping them realize they can thrive in new environments as well. To do so, try your best to keep other constants in their lives. It’s equally important to recognize that babies need stability. According to Parent Lane, they love familiarity and thrive when they have routines. Maybe take them to a new location but bring some people they’re already familiar with. Furthermore, in the new environment, try putting them down for their naps at the same time you normally would if you were at home. These simple acts can be extremely beneficial in helping your child feel comfortable in a new environment, and consequently in helping them feel more confident at all times with their surroundings.

Teach Them Useful Skills

Another great way to help your baby build confidence is to teach him or her new skills. One skill that’s both confidence-building and safety-ensuring is swimming. Many child deaths occur each year due to drowning—mostly during the summertime. Furthermore, swimming is an independent sport that will likely be scary to your child at the beginning, but that will help them realize they can do hard things. Don’t worry about putting your child in swim lessons too early. According to SwimJim, even babies are capable of learning swimming skills. So, teach your child lifesaving and important skills early on!

Provide Safety and Love

Lastly, one very important thing that will greatly help babies grow in confidence is to provide them with safety and love. As mentioned previously, babies love familiarity. Familiarity helps them feel safe. So, hold them and talk to them frequently. Zero to Three recommends you let your loved ones hold them as well so they can become familiar with them. When your baby is crying, don’t just let them cry. Pick them up, comfort them, and try to figure out why they’re crying. Granted, there are times as the baby gets older when it’s good for them to just be left alone to do things like fall asleep. However, especially when they are infants, crying likely means something is wrong and they need to be comforted.

Children are a wonderful addition to a family. They often help both your family and your community. Babies are also a lot of work, of course, and need to learn many skills. So, do some research to see how to best help your child learn. Help them build confidence. And of course, treat them with great love and adoration.

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