Building a child's self-esteem early in their life can lead to positive results, such as better academic performance, healthier relationships, and resilience against stress factors. One of the ways parents can help their kids become confident in themselves during their formative years is through acting.
Can applying to kids casting calls really end up with the child building good self-esteem? Let's start from the very beginning below.
What Is Considered Good Self-Esteem?
The general description of a person with good self-esteem typically involves a balanced, healthy, and realistic perception of themselves, including not only recognizing their strengths and weaknesses but also accepting them both.
It gives the ability to be aware of what one can do well, as well as establish where there is room for improvement without being too harsh and critical of oneself. While being honest to themselves, people with healthy self-esteem can also be honest and respectful in asserting their needs or opinions within relationships with others.
Amongst the positive results of this is a better ability to cope with stress and setbacks, and learning to view these situations as a new opportunity for learning and growth. It helps to establish and maintain a general positive outlook on life.
What Helps To Establish Self-Worth Since Day One?
The formative years up until the age of around 7 to 8 play a crucially significant role in the child's development, including establishing their self-worth and self-perception. Kids begin to form it based on interactions with their parents, other adults in their life, as well as with other children, and their environment as a whole.
As little kids are easily and highly impressionable, their self-worth initially will be made or broken based on what they receive from the people they look up to the most. If the child's parents provide love, and encouragement for whatever efforts they put into something, they can use that positive reinforcement to foster a strong sense of self-worth as a result.
Unfortunately, it is a two-way street. If parents are using an approach that is widely considered negative, including being rejecting or neglective, it may lead to the child developing a negative and low self-perception and self-worth.
What Are The Long-Term Implications?
The early establishment of good self-esteem typically is directly linked with better mental health. On the other hand, early low self-esteem can later lead to anxiety disorders or even depression.
Importantly enough, a positive sense of self-worth correlates with a child's higher motivation levels for reaching successful results. At first, it can mean striving for better academic results, while attaining them can further reinforce positive self-esteem going into adulthood.
What Activities Can Help Kids To Develop Positive Self-Esteem?
During these formative years, it is important to get children involved in various activities, academic, extracurricular, or both, because they can directly enhance a belief in their own abilities.
As the child establishes their own identity and understanding of social norms, they will often first choose to emulate adults in their lives. If the respective role model shows confidence and resilience, it is likely the kid will try to do so too.
There are many activities where they can meet adult role models beyond their household, while also working toward a specific set goal and learning about making significant decisions. Not everyone gets everything right from the very first try but through reasonable challenges, they will benefit in the long run.
How Kid Acting Builds Good Self-Esteem?
Among those activities that can help children to build their self-esteem in a significant way is acting.
As the kid shows signs of potential interest in acting, or even expresses it themselves, it would be an excellent idea to apply them for kid casting calls, as it builds their self-esteem through the ways listed below.
1. Ability To Self-Express
Acting encourages kids to express their thoughts, feelings, and ideas in the open. As they go through with expressing themselves, it also allows them to explore different aspects of their personality without the risk of being judged. As they try out for more and more roles, kid actors learn to articulate their emotions more effectively, which can lead to increased confidence in their ability to communicate in general.
2. Overcoming Inner Fears
Speaking on the risks of being judged, and performing in front of any type of audience, e.g. for the casting director at Disney auditions, teaches children to cope with the natural anxiety related to public appearances. As they keep on performing at more casting calls, and receive feedback about it, as well as establish practice habits, kids also are able to realize that mistakes are a part of life, thus fostering resilience.
3. Developing Social Skills
Acting auditions almost inevitably means collaborating with other people, including industry professionals and fellow kid actors. As they learn teamwork, empathy, and communication through acting, it ultimately positively reflects on their long-term self-esteem as well. Receiving positive reinforcement for their acting efforts from their parents alone can do wonders to boost their confidence even more.
4. Sharpening The Mind
Acting normally involves memorizing lines for performing in acting auditions. It can teach children about problem-solving skills in practice. Each successful performance reinforces the idea that they can achieve goals as long as they see the value in hard work and show persistence. In the case of acting, it means rehearsing lines or perfecting their delivery which can easily transfer to other aspects in a child's life.
5. Boosting The Creativity
By being able children to step into someone else’s shoes, literally and figuratively, through acting, they can learn there are really no limits to their imagination and creativity. It can help with boosting their confidence as they realize the power of storytelling, and how it can affect not only themselves but the world around them as well, thus also encouraging them to take pride in their abilities.
Even if the kid chooses a different path later on, the experiences with acting as a child can end up shaping them into a confident and happy person for good.
