Share Your Skills & Talents with Children

At an awards ceremony in April, honoring those in our Alpine County community who make "Rainbows in the Lives of Children" we had the pleasure of listening to Educator/Counselor David Love of Valley Community Counseling Services. His topic was on building self-esteem in children by offering them opportunities to learn new skills.

David Love started out by asking us to remember who taught us how to tie our shoes, drive a car, cook, fish, and fix a broken faucet....of course with pause between each to reminisce. Do you remember?

Self-esteem can't be taught, but teaching children new skills helps grow their self-esteem.
Self-esteem grows when children do something they enjoy and they do it well. This success provides children a true sense of accomplishment which grows intrinsic motivation- a trait related to more interest, excitement, confidence, enhanced performance, persistence, creativity, self-esteem and general well-being.

David Love then spoke about studies involving dementia patients. When these patients learned a new skill it "lit up" a new portion of their brain on their brain scans. Learning new skills makes the brain stronger for longer, keeping it viable through these activities. Keeping in mind that learning new skills will also strengthen the brains of children, he asked that each person in the room to "Share a skill you have with a child or a group of children in the next year."

The more opportunities children have to learn new skills, the better chance they will have at finding an activity they enjoy and excel at. These multiple opportunities for skill development also give children a new lens on life, opening their eyes to the endless opportunities they have waiting for them while allowing them to learn more about their world.

Keep in mind when presenting new skills to children, work in small steps to avoid frustration. Multiple small successes building into larger ones as skills develop work wonders to maintain motivation to continue at a task.

Sharing your skills and talents with children will help meet their critical emotional needs to feel important and to feel included. What will you share? We would love to hear from you.