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The elementary school years play a formative role in shaping a child’s self-esteem and confidence. Children with high self-esteem typically tackle new challenges more effectively, achieve more success in school, and generally exhibit fewer personal and behavioral issues.

On the contrary, children with low self-esteem tend to experience higher levels of anxiety and frustration. Additionally, low self-esteem can cause children to become passive and withdrawn from school and friends. As self-esteem plays a critical role in a child’s overall personality development, attitude, and persona, parents can utilize five specific strategies to boost their child’s positive feelings and confidence.

Five Strategies for Self Esteem

According to the , self-esteem is the term that is used to describe a child’s general feelings of self-worth. Self-esteem is often gauged by how one collectively feels about him or herself, and self-esteem also influences our personal beliefs about our abilities, desires, and interests.

The Nemours Foundation further articulates that parents play a large role in their child’s development of esteem: “As kids try, fail, try again, fail again, and then finally succeed, they develop ideas about their own capabilities. At the same time, they're creating a self-concept based on interactions with other people.” Experts assert that parents should implement specific strategies to encourage the positive development of their child’s esteem and confidence.

1. Use Positive Encouragement

One of the best ways to boost self-esteem in

New struggles and challenges must be confronted at each grade level during a child’s academic development. Specifically, in the public high school years, many teens struggle to stay organized, facing difficulty managing their assignments and agendas. The high school years open students to far more freedoms, social opportunities, new technologies, and countless distractions. Subsequently, many teens cannot seem to figure out how to manage all of their obligations.

Being organized is an essential skill that will help your teen as he or she grows into an adult. Research shows that organized students develop habits that will help them perform better in school and in the long term in their professional and adult life. Thankfully, there are several ways parents can continue to guide their teenage children toward greater organization and self-management.

Secrets to Teenage Organization

One of the main reasons many parents struggle to guide their teenage children towards organization is the common teenage desire for freedom from their parents. As teens encounter more privileges and responsibilities, they want to break free from the parental nest.

During this period of unrest and self-discovery, teens quickly feel overwhelmed and disorganized. As teens desire more freedom and self-control, parents are often pushed away as they try to intervene. Despite this power struggle, parents can still offer guidance and support.

Set the Boundaries

First and foremost, if your teen is among the many who desire to assert their independence, you must first set and explain clear boundaries and expectations.

After hours of cramming, attending test prep courses, and enduring long hours of practice exams, students wonder how much-standardized test scores matter.

Some experts argue that standardized test scores are not an accurate measure of a student’s intelligence, while others assert that these scores help gauge a student’s abilities more accurately. With this raging debate, recent studies reveal the true influence of standardized test scores on a high school student’s college application and acceptance.

Why Take Standardized Tests?

With a rising number of students applying to community colleges and universities, most schools now require all applicants to complete standardized tests. The most popular standardized tests include the SAT or the ACT assessments. In fact, according to , American students today are among the most tested students in the world! Studies show that students combined in the United States take nearly 100 million tests yearly.

With the excessive testing forced upon American children and teens, many wonder: What’s the point? As Scholastic further explains, these tests have an array of reasons and purposes. Specifically, standardized tests are “Viewed as a measure of teacher and school competence and, in some cases, can affect a child's future placement in a school.”

Some tests are designed to ensure that all students meet average progress rates. In contrast, other tests aim to assess each student’s unique abilities as they continue to apply for higher education institutions. These

While every teacher naturally wants to help students learn and excel, there are inevitably some “favorites” in the classroom. However, based on expert information and educators themselves, parents can be involved and take simple steps to help get on the teacher’s “good side.”

Meet the Teacher

Most schools host “open-house” or “meet the teacher” events at the beginning of any school year or new semester. If your child’s school provides the community with this opportunity, try your best to attend! The open-house invitations allow parents and teachers to interact face-to-face.

This parent-teacher meeting can ameliorate various miscommunication issues down the line. For example, if your child comes home complaining of a teacher’s unfairness or assignment, you can use your own knowledge of the teacher (based on your meeting) to assess if your child’s perceptions are accurate. Upon meeting parents at open-house events, many teachers can clearly outline their classroom procedures, grading policies, and so forth. By becoming aware of these guidelines and the teacher’s personality, you can more clearly assess any future issues that your child may encounter in the teacher’s class.

Establish Communication

If you can meet the teacher at an open-house event, then you’re off to the right start! However, if you cannot attend a meet-the-teacher event, try offering your introduction through another alternative method. For example, email the teacher, introducing yourself in a friendly fashion. Offer your home number or