Does your child struggle with self-esteem? Helping your preschool child have good self-confidence is important. One good parenting technique is to read preschool books about characters who struggle with negative feelings. Here are 3 excellent preschool books to help with self-esteem:
How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids
This book by Tom Rath is a powerful tool to teach children they have power over their own emotions and the emotions of others. In the book, Felix sees a bucket over his head and watches as negative words from others empty the bucket, and positive words and actions fill it. As Felix learns how to fill his own bucket and the buckets of others, your child can learn this too. Use this book to help your child express their needs and feelings. You can use the bucket analogy as a good parenting technique to help your child talk through problem-solving about friendship issues, bullying and conflicts with siblings.
You Are Special
Every child needs to know they are special. This lovely story by Max Lucado teaches the importance of understanding our own worth even when others put us down. The main character, Punchinello, lives in a town where people judge each other and give out gold stars to people they deem beautiful or talented, and grey dots to people they judge ugly or ordinary. Little, worn-out Punchinello gets mostly dots. One day, he meets a puppet with no stars or dots. She tells him to go visit Eli, the master woodcarver. Eli explains to Punchinello that what other people think doesn't matter, because Eli loves him just as he is.
Chrysanthemum
Many preschool books by Kevin Henkes help children deal with self-esteem. Chrysanthemum is particularly helpful because, like You Are Special, it encourages preschoolers to seek adult help. Chrysanthemum's parents are her consolers when she faces teasing about her name in school. As a parent, you are the best person to help your child stand firm and be themselves no matter what other people say. The realistic dialogue in Chrysanthemum can help you talk with your child about how to deal with teasing by others.
At Kids Konnect, teachers help preschoolers to relate to one another by using good books on self-esteem. Reading stories that show how to handle difficult situations is good parenting too. Do you have another favorite preschool book on self-esteem?