By Jane Pinel

As your little one explores his new world, he will necessarily fall down sometimes, or bump his head or hurt his hand. Of course if it is serious you will attend to it right away. But very often you will notice as soon as the bump happens, even while he is still on the floor, he will look at you before he starts to cry. This is to identify whether he should be really worried about what happened or not. If it’s not serious it is important that you answer his look with smiling reassurance, in the words of encouragement as you stand him on his feet again. Your reaction is teaching him how to respond.

As your toddler gets a little older he will find things he wants to accomplish, such as throwing and catching a ball, or trying a new ride on the playground. Once again, he will look to you for the confidence and belief in himself that he needs to keep trying if he doesn’t first succeed. An attitude by his parent of blame or punishment when he is trying to learn a new skill, can be devastating. However, there is a little wiggle room for you if you have had a bad day at work or you haven’t eaten for the last eight hours, but you must be positive, supportive, and let him know that you believe in him and his abilities whenever possible. For small child, their sense of confidence depends on who is caring for them and their experiences with success.