{"id":16060,"date":"2018-09-06T12:01:07","date_gmt":"2018-09-06T11:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dide.org\/self-esteem-in-a-childs-life-reasons-impact-and-early-detection\/"},"modified":"2018-09-06T12:01:07","modified_gmt":"2018-09-06T11:01:07","slug":"self-esteem-in-a-childs-life-reasons-impact-and-early-detection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dide.org\/en\/self-esteem-in-a-childs-life-reasons-impact-and-early-detection\/","title":{"rendered":"Self-esteem in a child’s life: Reasons, impact, and early detection"},"content":{"rendered":"

Self-esteem is the perception of how we value ourselves, both in what we are and in what we do. <\/span><\/h2>\n

We have a very limited space to present self-esteem<\/strong>, about which so much has been written, commented, courses and workshops have been held, self-help books have been marketed, and who knows what else. It has become a word that is too often hackneyed, which serves “for a broken and also for a torn”, but beyond the popularized “love yourself” we will try to give greater clarity about its content and fundamental implications in the development of this species that we are, humans. <\/span><\/p>\n

Back in the 19th century, W. James coined the concept, most likely without suspecting the diffusive impact it would have in the future. As with so many other constructs in psychology, there are divergences depending on the school that focuses on it, as well as distant origins in classical philosophy, although the masters of antiquity did not use the same signifiers. The basic principle before starting to say the mantra “I’m worth it, I love myself” is to know oneself<\/strong>, because thanks to this we perceive who and how we are, our strengths, our limits,<\/strong> our overcoming and evolution, how we are and act, and also self-acceptance, balance, and the capacity for assertiveness as well as resilience. <\/span><\/p>\n

Trying to be as aseptic as possible, we will say that self-esteem is the perceptions, thoughts, feelings, behavioral tendencies, and evaluations directed towards ourselves,<\/strong> that is, towards our way of being as well as towards our being, whether in the physical aspect or in the character. We will add, considering our vital component of social interaction in our development, Rosenberg’s perspective. This author understands self-esteem as an attitudinal phenomenon generated by social and cultural forces. It is formed in a process of comparison in which values and discrepancies are involved. The diverse degree of self-esteem of the person is related to the perception of the self in comparison with personal values.<\/strong> These fundamental values have been constituted through the process of socialization. If the distance between the ideal self and the real self is slight, self-esteem is high. But as the distance increases, the lower the self-esteem will be, even if the person is considered favorably by others. <\/span><\/p>\n

There is agreement on the importance of the degree of self-esteem and its relevance in various psychopathological conditions, as well as on the need to seek professional help, or the link with stress and well-being. More specifically, low self-esteem has frequently been associated with depression, eating disorders, personality disorders, anxiety, phobias<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

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What are the reasons why a child has low self-esteem?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Being flexible and open, we will say that the formation of self-esteem has its beginning when we are in the maternal womb, starting by not transferring our personal expectations to the unborn child, since the new being, even being our child, is a diverse creature that needs and has the right to be himself, to recognize, accept, value and overcome himself, let us remember <\/em><\/strong>the essence of the verses of <\/strong>Khalil Gibran: \u201cYour children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of life’s calling to itself. They come through you, but not from you. And though they are with you, they belong not to you\u2026\u201d. <\/span>It is not so simple and it happens that throughout the development<\/a> of the minor, and later, with successive life experiences, the young person may move away from a positive self-concept, or perhaps he was never close.<\/span><\/p>\n

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For our children to be secure adults and accept themselves unconditionally, we have to create the breeding ground from childhood, since adults are the engine of their self-esteem and they will look at themselves as they were looked at.<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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The reasons why this occurs are diverse.<\/strong> It may be that in his initial stage of formation he has suffered the negative assessment of his closest figures, that he has acquired habits such as self-punishment for hypothetically having failed or not corresponding to certain expectations, that there is a lack of self-knowledge as well as a deficit of understanding<\/a> and appreciation towards his thoughts, decisions, feelings, being self-critical and self-demanding.<\/span><\/p>\n

Self-esteem is not \u201cbought\u201d nor is it competitive, nor is it arrogant, although there is much confusion and our interaction with others is very important and humanly necessary, our healthy self-concept is not to gain the recognition and acceptance of others and much less at any cost.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Undiagnosed and untreated learning and developmental difficulties can cause frustration, demotivation, low self-esteem, and school failure in children.<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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