One of your most important aspects of parenting is to help your child develop his or her self-esteem. Your child needs your steady support and encouragement to discover his/her strengths. He/she needs you to believe in them as they learn to believe in themselves. Loving them, spending time with them, listening to them and praising their accomplishments are all part of this process.

Take your child to a free bike repair session or writing workshop at Discovery Green and praise them for the hard work they put into it. Set up a sticker system at home that tracks your child’s successes – each time your child gets an A in class, completes a chore or wins an award at school, to reinforce their positive behaviors.

T – 6 days until Tell Your Child Your Love Them day! A fun idea might be to color a card for your child — much in the same way that they might make a card for you on Mother’s or Father’s Day — and to give it to them before going off to school that day.