Children with high self-confidence feel themselves to be competent and capable. Children who lack self-confidence feel that they don’t measure up, and this belief can eventually lead them to avoid challenges and new experiences.
As parents and caregivers, we want our children to do many things. We want them to succeed, we want them to achieve, we want them to make good decisions, we want them to be kind and productive members of society.
Starting at birth, babies begin the life-long process of learning about themselves and the world around them. From the very start, they are acquiring skills that are necessary for navigating the social world successfully. These skills are commonly grouped under the term self-control or self-regulation.
A recent newspaper headline heralded budget meetings between the Shelby County Board of Commissioners and Shelby County Schools officials, but the real headline for us was at the bottom of the story.
Neuroscientists have found parts of the brain that regulate it. Geneticists are searching for the genes associated with it. Psychologists are studying how young children develop it. Health researchers report that it’s linked to adult health and mortality.
I have spent almost 40 years in courtrooms hearing the life stories of men and women convicted of crimes. I also listen to expert psychological testimony about the developmental causes of their behavior.