Self Esteem Activities for Adults and Kids

If you need help with building your self esteem or want to help others then these activities could help you.

It doesn’t matter if you are an adult or want to help your kids build their self confidence these free self esteem activities will help with developing positive confidence and enhance your general well being.

Generally we all like to be loved and be told we are good and great and that we are either doing a great job in the work place or in the home no matter how small the task is that is being praised.

These activities are set so that everyone not only sees that they can do things (because if you suffer from low self esteem you believe you can’t do anything right) and get feedback in a team environment because the whole team can pull together.

Adult self esteem activities

The following are generally set for adults although your children can participate if needed.

Activity 1: My Shield – Who am I ?

This is set to help you answer questions on “who exactly am I?” and develop this on a large sheet of paper in the shape of a shield – like in a battle – see picture below:

Everyone in the group should have the same piece of paper and if you are lucky enough to have A1 size paper then draw the lines to make it into 4 segments. Then get writing. Add in photographs of yourself and draw pictures to illustrate what you have written. Write as much as you can:

• My name – also add in your age and where you are based and a photograph of yourself
• My skills – put in your greatest achievements whether it be in work or in your home life
• My ambitions – what exactly do you want to achieve in the next 3 years or so
• What am I famous for? – this is to get you to understand how other people see you and if another person could describe you what would they put in here? Like, “he is the life and soul of the party”

This is a great exercise to undertake because everyone has achieved something in their life and it highlights that you can do great and reflect on how good life really is.

Affirmation Lists

This draws upon the work you have undertaken above and delves into your past years looking at real achievements you have that made you feel good.

• When was the last time you laughed – if you can laugh at something whether it was someone else’s misfortune or a comedy program on TV then you can relive that moment again. Laughing at something or someone automatically makes you feel good about yourself and if you have a list of what makes you laugh you can add these into your daily routine.
• List 5 things you are good at – and make a point of doing at least one of these activities every week. If we know we can achieve something we feel a sense of achievement and good about ourselves.
• List 5 things you have achieved in your life – everyone has done some good whether it be having a child, being promoted at work, getting off a bad habit (like smoking or drinking or losing weight) and write these on a list where you can see them each day and this will show you that you can do great things
• List 5 things that make you feel good about yourself – these could dressing up to go out to dinner, walking in the sunshine by a lake or river, playing a sport or whatever and again make sure you do one of these activities each week.

Activities for kids

If you child suffers from low self esteem or is shy sometimes they may just need more praise – for anything from finishing their dinner, getting dressed themselves, tidying their room or simply doing a household chore. Many of us forget that generally we are telling children off for things they are not doing to our satisfaction and forget to praise them. Children need a lot of positive praise on a daily basis and it may take time to change a child’s attitude and is not something just to do today but always.

Here are some activities to improve children’s self esteem which is mainly about building confidence.

• The child interview – you’ll need 2 children to interview each other – siblings are fine but if not then a child’s friend or relation. Give each child 5 minutes to interview the other then get them to read out loud back to you what they have learned. Questions can include “what is their favorite meal”, “what they like at school”, “their best friend”, “their favorite game or toy”, “favorite sport”, “what they want to do when they grow up” – anything really. You can develop a questionnaire for them to use and encourage them to develop their own questions as well.
• Draw your portrait – this is a good exercise for both kids and parents as you will learn a lot about your child’s thinking. Give them a large piece of paper and colored crayons or pencils and ask them to draw themselves as they would like to be. This will encourage positive thoughts and creativity and put their best thinking down on paper.
• Great things – get your child to list 10 friends or family members they like and then get them to write down 2 or 3 things they like about them. This encourages positive thinking throughout the exercise which could transfer to the child as well if they are thinking positive thoughts all the time.

These self esteem activities for adults and kids are designed to instill additional self confidence but if you need professional advice then you should seek it straight away. If you have any additional activities that could help others then please let us know.

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