The Confidence-Building Summer Activity Every Parent Should Try

As a child therapist, one of the biggest misconceptions I see is that confidence comes from praise. While encouragement is important, true confidence is built through experience. Children become confident when they have opportunities to try something new, make mistakes, practice, improve, and eventually succeed.

In other words, confidence grows from competence.

Think about the last time your child learned a new skill. Maybe they finally mastered riding a bike, learned to tie their shoes, or made their own breakfast for the first time. Chances are you could see the pride on their face. They weren’t confident because someone told them they were amazing. They were confident because they had proof that they could do something hard.