Why Does Self-Awareness Matter for Your Child?

The benefits of self-awareness are wide and varied. It can be an incredibly helpful tool for all of us whilst trying to navigate life's twists, turns and everyday experiences.

Today we're going to be discussing what self-awareness is and why it matters for your child. We'll also suggest ways you can try to encourage your child to become more self-aware to help them thrive.

What Is Self-Awareness and Why Does It Matter?

Self-awareness is the ability to be aware of your feelings, thoughts and actions. It's also about being aware that how you act and what you say affects both yourself and others.

Through being aware of our feelings, thoughts and actions, we're more able to recognise our emotions which in turn enables us to better regulate them, and ultimately promotes healthy relationships not only with others but also ourselves. We become able to identify our triggers and empathise with others to see things from their perspective.

Instilling a sense of self-awareness in children can set them up to be able to proactively and successfully manage life's varied experiences with a positive manner, and help with self-worth, confidence and achieving goals.

How Can We Encourage Self-Awareness?

You can help boost your child's sense of self-awareness through a variety of thought-provoking activities. One example is the Rose, Thorn and Bud exercise. For each part of the flower, your child expresses their current feelings and recent experiences through the medium of writing or drawing.

Rose = a positive

Thorn = a frustration

Bud = an opportunity

To further explain, for the rose, they can note something good that's recently happened and how it made them feel e.g. doing well on a spelling test made them feel happy and smart.

For the thorn, they write about something that has proven to be a challenge recently or something that has felt frustrating e.g. being left out of an activity made them feel sad.

Then finally, the bud is a potential rose. This is where they can write down future opportunities e.g. it could be something they're looking forward to, anything they're excited to learn about or perhaps something they could improve.

You can easily find free downloadable templates online for the Rose, Thorn and Bud exercise that you can then print off at home. Using worksheets such as this can help your child express their feelings and identify emotions. It also gives you the opportunity to discuss successes and what went right, alongside any scenarios they could approach differently in future where necessary.

Talking It Through

The simple act of talking with a calm approach can provide space for your child to try and describe how they are or were feeling during a moment of intense emotion.

Try asking questions such as "I noticed you were upset at the park today when your friends were on the swings. Do you want to talk about how you felt and why you might have felt that way?"

Talking it through can help your child recognise their emotions and realise how their behaviour was during that moment in time. By discussing this you can help them understand their feelings and actions and provide assistance on how they can better manage their emotions where required. It's also a good opportunity to help expand their vocabulary, tailoring this to the appropriate level for your child. Were they feeling just a little bit upset? Or were they feeling furious?

In addition to asking these questions you may wish to also ask your child how they felt physically. For example, a hurting tummy or feeling scared could be signs that your child was feeling anxious. Discussing these physical feelings enables them to become further self-aware by being conscious of how their body might react physically depending on their emotions.

To help your child identify the triggers of their intense emotions, you could consider asking simple questions around when they started feeling that way and for what length of time. This can in turn help pinpoint what the catalyst was.

The more you help your child work at being self-aware the easier they may find dealing with everyday life, setting them up to become confident, resilient and positive individuals. Being able to understand, express and manage their emotions will enable them to become better communicators, improve their decision-making skills and ultimately achieve more.