Helping Your Child's Self-Esteem

Many children whose parents separate or divorce develop a low self-esteem. Low self-esteem can occur in a child for different reasons: (1) the child may believe he or she caused the divorce, (2) the child may struggle with feelings of failure because he or she cannot seem to bring the parents back together, or (3) the child may have feelings of abandonment when a parent remarries. There are several ways you can help your child's self-esteem:

"The parent needs to interact in that child's life. The parent needs to sit on the side of the bed and listen to the child's fears. You prove your love by giving time," says Dr. Bob Barnes. "Give your children chores. Many times single parents do not take the time to teach chores, or they think, It's easier for me to fold the laundry than to go behind them and fix it. Children know that, so they'll make a mess of the chore so they don't have to do it again. If you train your children to do chores, then they have the sense of being a valuable, contributing member of the family."

"Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents" (Ephesians 5:1 Msg).