The Mumbai Program Director & Clinical Psychologist at The MINDS Foundation. Honorary Associate Editor for the Indian Journal of Mental Health with over 100 National and International publications
Self-acceptance is the process of learning to accept yourself, with all of your strengths and weaknesses. It involves deeply understanding oneself, and leads to greater self-confidence, wellbeing, and emotional health. Until around the age of 8, a child cannot form a clear sense of self and learns self-acceptance from what is given to them by their parents. This conditional acceptance may lead to self-criticism and self-doubt as adults. For this reason, it is important to teach your child how to truly understand and accept themselves, for all of their positive qualities and flaws, from a young age.
“You really have to look inside yourself and find your own inner strength and say ‘I’m proud of what I am and who I am, I’m just going to be myself.’”
– Mariah Carey
How To Help Your Child Practice Self-Acceptance
- 1. Compliment your child’s positive qualities and abilities
- 2. Give your child permission to be their authentic self – without any judgement
- 3. Encourage your child to fail and learn from their mistakes
- 4. Discuss the future with your child and make them realize they are capable of whatever they set their mind to
- 5. Teach your child that they are not defined by their feelings and emotions and encourage them to think rationally about any problems they may face
- 6. Show them how to accept their mistakes and let go of any related feelings of guilt
- 7. Model self-compassion for them by taking care of yourself
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Credits:
Author:
Pragya Lodha, MINDS Mumbai Program Director & Psychologist
Acknowledgements:
Ankita Gupta, MINDS Research Associate
Anoushka Thakkar, MINDS Research Associate
Roshni Dadlani, MINDS Communications Lead
References
- Cuellar, A. (2015). Preventing and Treating Child Mental Health Problems. The Future of Children, 25(1), 111-134. Retrieved August 11, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/43267765
- Children’s Mental Health. (2021). Retrieved 4 August 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/basics.html
- de Girolamo, Giovanni & Dagani, Jessica & Purcell, R & Cocchi, Angelo & Mcgorry, Patrick. (2012). Age of onset of mental disorders and use of mental health services: Needs, opportunities and obstacles. Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences. 21. 47-57. 10.1017/S2045796011000746.
- Kessler, R. C., Amminger, G. P., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Alonso, J., Lee, S., & Ustün, T. B. (2007). Age of onset of mental disorders: a review of recent literature. Current opinion in psychiatry, 20(4), 359–364. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0b013e32816ebc8c
- MayoClinic (2021). Retrieved 5 August 2021, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/childrens-health/in-depth/mental-illness-in-children/art-20046577
- NIMH » Children and Mental Health: Is This Just a Stage?. (2021). Retrieved 4 August 2021, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/children-and-mental-health
- Ogundele, M. (2018). Behavioural and emotional disorders in childhood: A brief overview for paediatricians. World Journal Of Clinical Pediatrics, 7(1), 9-26. doi: 10.5409/wjcp.v7.i1.9
- Tolan, P. H., & Dodge, K. A. (2005). Children’s mental health as a primary care and concern: a system for comprehensive support and service. The American psychologist, 60(6), 601–614. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.6.601
- Waddell, C., McEwan, K., Shepherd, C. A., Offord, D. R., & Hua, J. M. (2005). A public health strategy to improve the mental health of Canadian children. Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie, 50(4), 226–233. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674370505000406
The views expressed are that of the expert alone.