Self-confidence is based on self-efficacy and self-esteem, on who the child thinks he is, and on what he is able to do

The first very important principle to know is that there are two main things, blocks on which self-confidence is based on: self-efficacy and self-esteem. Self-esteem refers to who we think we are (for example I am pretty, I am clever, I am generous) and self-efficacy refers to what we think we are able to do. For example I can overcome my fears, I can walk on a top of a mountain, I can learn very fast. So when your child evaluates himself he looks on one hand at who he is, if he is loved, if he is important, useful. If he is appreciated at home or in his classroom. If he is a good looking person. And so on. On another hand your child also observes what he can do, what he is able to do. Can he draw or write nicely, can he swim faster then other kids, can he make his parents happy, can he reconciliate his family, is he able to do all those things that seem very important to him.

Self-confidence is the result of a construction based on both major events and ordinary tasks, ordinary, small actions, gestures

The second very important principle you need to know is that self-confidence is not something inborn, innate, is not something set in stone. Self-confidence is the result of a construction. In this construction contribute both major eventsand ordinary tasks, ordinary, small actions, gestures.  A won contest and also parents’s daily complaints. 

There is a strong link between fears and self-confidence

The last very important principle that I would like to talk about is the fact that there is a strong link between fears and self-confidence. Fears are generated by the anticipation that something or somebody may hurt us or put us in danger. A child which has poor self-confidence will tend to be a fearful child. That child does not trust his capabilities, his capacities. He thinks that he is not good enough to handle a difficult situation so, he will develop essentially running strategies. In front of a problem he will run away from it, he will avoid it. 

A child with a strong self-confidence , will have a healthy sense of caution and he will develop attack strategies. For example a child with strong self-confidence will fear lions because these animals are dangerous, but he will not fear to speak about them with his teacher, he will not fear to visit them at the zoo, he will not fear to take pictures of lions. Because the child which has a strong self-confidence thinks that he is good enough, he is able to manage this kind of situations. 

On another hand a child which experiments many fears and doesn’t receive enough and proper help from his parents, may encounter some traumatic events and can lose his self-confidence.