This document discusses building positive self-concept in children. It states that self-concept develops from birth through preschool years and includes a child's self-image and self-esteem. Young children view everything from their own egocentric perspective and feel approval or disapproval directly impacts their abilities. The document emphasizes that acceptance of self and others is essential for positive self-concept development. It advises teachers to accept each child unconditionally through their attitudes and behaviors in order to help children accept themselves.

1. Building
a Positive
Self-Concept

2. General Objective
To help children improve their self-
concept through your attitude and
behavior toward them.

3. Self-Concept formation begins at birth
and develops throughout a child’s
preschool years.
This sense of self includes both her self-
image (her inner picture of herself) and
her self-esteem (her sense of self worth).

4. A child’s self-image includes how she
feels about her looks, her gender, her
ethnicity, her standing in the family, and
her abilities.

5. Our self-concept determines who we are,
what we think we are, what we think we
can do, and what we think we can
become.

6. Young children are highly egocentric; they
view everything as if they are the source
of all happenings around them.

7. “They tend to overestimate their mastery
of new skills and underestimate how hard
new tasks are. They feel that they are
liked or disliked depending on how well
they can do things and are easily
influenced by parental approval or
disapproval.”
- Frost, Wortham, and Reifel (2005)

8. ACCEPTS SELF AND EVERY
CHILD AS WORTHY AND USES
NONVERBAL CUES TO LET
CHILDREN KNOW THEY ARE
ACCEPTED

9. Acceptance is an essential component
in the development of a positive self-
concept. Most people need to feel that
they are accepted by those around them
to feel good about themselves. Just as
important is their acceptance of
themselves as worthy persons before they
can wholly accept others.

10. Adult Self-Acceptance
This role of acceptance applies to
adults as well as children. For you as a
teacher to accept the children in your
program, you also need to feel good about
yourself as a person.

11. Adult-Child Acceptance
Your first step in helping a child
accept and feel good about herself is thus
to accept the child yourself, totally and
unconditionally.

12. You should accept every child as a
valuable individual despite the child’s
appearance or behavior. This acceptance
means that you will help each child
overcome inappropriate behavior through
your behavior toward that child and your
respect for him or her as an individual.