#RaiseAWarrior: Confidence: the Wind Beneath Your Child's Wings

Do you remember orphan Annie, the Hardy Boys, or Nancy Drew? Wouldn't it be nice is we could all raise kids with the confidence and compassion of these spunky characters? Sure, most of our children won't be orphaned with an evil headmistress or facing off criminals in their spare time, but the reality of a hard knock life is for everyone. We can't protect our children from this forever. So we have to make the most of this truth by seeking to equip our children with enough confidence to not only make it through these trials, but to also thrive in the face of adversity.

Self confidence, in the truest sense of the word, stems from a deep and internal sense of security, a feeling of competence. It requires us to be able to realistically view our abilities through a positive internal filter. This feeling of competence rises with achievement and perseverance in the face of failure. Now I know we don't want to see our children fail or be sad because of a loss. What kind of parent would get excited over that?! But the truth is we have to remember our job is to work until we are no longer needed. Retirement is a goal. We want our kids to grow up- living full, independent lives beyond the safety of us and our homes. We don't want to look to the future and realize our child will be living in our basement for all eternity. Is it scary to think of our kiddos being on their own? Absolutely! But the truth is the best gift we can give our children is to curb our own anxieties, giving our children room to grow deep roots and their own wings. Unconditional love is their roots and self-confidence will be their wings. Without these things a future of big Johnny asking you to heat up Hot Pockets while he plays Fortnight endlessly is far too real for comfort.

So how do we raise confident kids without losing our mind's as parents or becoming an empty praise pusher? Luckily as martial arts instructors we're helping a little bit in that department. Children learn to recognize and build upon their strengths as they practice techniques, and achieve increasingly more difficult goals. They also learn how to handle defeat, and rely on a team while they take time to set goals focused on strengthening their weaknesses. But confidence is so important it needs to be an integrated part of your child's life, definitely more than 45 minutes of growth on the mat twice a week.

We've been talking with your warriors about confidence all month long in our mat chats, but as parents there is so much more YOU can do to set your child on the path of success.

Model self love so your little one understands they are ultimately their best cheerleader.
Celebrate the process more than the result.
And most importantly don't be afraid to let them fail.

This will be a journey of resilience for the both of you, but one we promise you won't regret in the end. Looking for more ideas on how to raise a confident warrior? Check out this awesome article we found to help get you started making your child's confidence a priority.