The comment made by my11 year old diagnosing my current
insecure condition (do you think I look old /fat) to having an issue of low
self-esteem, made me want to smile and think at the same time. “Look in the mirror mom and say there is no
one like me – I am the best “, were his words. Open hearts and open minds give
kids the advantage of visualizing things from a higher vantage point and
perceiving situations clearer than us adults.
In the western society, the concept of having high-esteem is
regarded as indispensable tool for young children to grow and rightly so. I
have been reading about the seemingly disadvantages of it, for instance they
really don’t know where they actually stand compared to their peers. Yet,
growing up in an Asian culture, where your worth (esteem) is weighed by how you
fulfill the standard requirements of the society’s expectation of what is norm,
it is very easy to lose the worth of self. Letting others decide your worth is
a trap that leads to gratifying others to increase our self-esteem.
The persistent struggle with low self-esteem is very
prevalent among girls. Sometimes, the shadows of its remnants are visible even
when we grow older. Building healthy self-worth takes not only time, but
consistent input and effort of parents. We cannot control what the child goes
through in school, – bullying or some
reckless remark by an adult, but we can definitely show our kids that only they
have the right to define who they are.
We are all fragile to some extent, some more liable to break
and damage than others. Some are fortunate to have the support system of
friends in adult life to lift you up and show you a glimpse of your real worth
– a creation of God, when you are down, some not so.
Whatever be the case, let us promise to teach our kids, to
always see in mirror, what we as parents
first saw when we held them in our arms, a precious and priceless source of
joy.
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