More and more, I am convinced that how much confidence we have in ourselves probably determines more than anything else what we can accomplish in life. This is the quality that our ‘poem of the session’ talks about, and a quality that all of us as parents want to see develop more in our kids. Here are some tips, drawn from our poem, on how to encourage more confidence in your children:


Help them KNOW they can do it: Knowing you can do something builds confidence! Allow your kids the extra struggle that it takes for them to do something all by themselves, without any assistance. Gymnastics is just one opportunity for kids to face new challenges and then learn that they can do it on their own. Look for other experiences in their everyday lives that will help them ‘know they can do it’.


Confident Attitude: Make confidence building statements to your child on a consistent basis  –  things like “I know you can do it” or “You are really good at that”. Encourage your child to think and say similar things about themselves.


Confident Actions: Behaving in a confident way will build confidence on the inside! Be intentional about teaching your child to stand straight, hold their chin up, look others in the eye when they are talking, and speak clearly.


Have a super confidence-building week!


~Heather Leshovsky


Session 4 Poem:

Know that I can do it,

Have an attitude to prove it!

Believe in myself every day,

Acting in a confident way.