Nurturing children's SELF-CONFIDENCE

Confidence is not a genetic endowment. Through structured activities, parents and educators can guide and enable children to develop this vital attribute that's necessary for success in complex and fast-changing workplaces worldwide

- KIRAN BALIMANE & CYNTHIA JOHN

“If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won before you have even started” — Marcus Carvey (1887-1940), Jamaican political activist and Black nationalist leader

Defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “the feeling of trusting in your own ability to do things and succeed, leading to a sense of assurance and sureness about oneself or a situation,” self-confidence is the magic attribute that is necessary for success in complex and fast-changing workplaces worldwide. It regularly features among the 3 ‘Cs’ — together with commitment and competence — identified by self-help and leadership gurus as nonnegotiable traits to overcoming obstacles and achieving academic, personal and professional goals. And like most attributes and traits that shape character, children’s self-confidence can be nurtured and strengthened from youngest age through adolescence to enable them to develop into confident young adults ready to take on the world.

Several authoritative studies link children’s low self-confidence to diminished capability to learn, build skills, participate socially, and realise their potential. A recent Listen Up Report 2025 by UK-based education agency, Hark, highlights that lack of confidence negatively impacts children’s capability to “learn, develop skills and relate to people around them”.