Looking at Bar Refaeli picture on the cover of 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue will make young and older men want to whip out their wallets and buy the magazine to get a better look at this beauty while younger girls who doesn't have the so called ideal attribute to model for such a coveted media may feel deprived and that alone can have a big impact on their self-confidence in their young adult life. These teens in order to grow and become successful adults must learn to accept their genetic and the way they are made physically. Thanks God, there are more and more magazines such as Vogue and Glamour featuring models of different size and ethnicity.
On the men side, action figure heroes have always been depicted as tall and well built men such as 6 foot 4 Christopher Reeves in Superman and tall and very muscular Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan. Young adult men under 6 feet would have their ego terribly shattered at the notion that they were not fit to be a superhero. The very
thought that their own kids could not possibly see them as a role model for a fictional action movie can have a terrible effect on their self-esteem and self-confidence.
That model too is changing with the release of Spiderman, wonderfully played by Tobey Maguire, who at 5 foot 9 is closer in height and can relate more to the average male. At last, an action hero can be of average height. An action hero can finally look like the everyday common man not overly tall and not too short either. That action hero can also have a great looking girlfriend in the like of Kirsten Dunst who doesn't need six inches stiletto heels to feel comfortable around her man.
5 Ways to instill self-confidence and self-esteem in our children from an early age?
1) Remind them to be thankful for what God gave them! They may not have the good looks that Hollywood or Sports Illustrated are looking for but by searching deep within their soul, they would find their inner gift, their true gift, which
they can nurture and share with the world.
2) Teach them to respect and help their fellow citizen! When you teach your children to respect others, specially elderly people, you are teaching them to be a positive force in the world and that will help boost their self-confidence. Helping a blind person to cross to the other side of the street is a feeling that they have done a
good deed and that should develop long lasting confidence.
3) Teach them to always keep a positive attitude! It is not always easy to keep a positive attitude all the time but the mere idea of always trying will etch a pattern in the brain that is necessary for self-confidence. There is nothing
wrong in looking sure of yourself! Never allow anyone to make them feel inferior. Always speak positively about themself.
4) Teach them that no one is perfect, we all have insecurities. Even the most successful person have insecurities. They have overcome their insecurity in order to become successul. Once you have identify your insecurity, find a way to gradually get over it and move on.
5) Teach them to always be themself! Every one is unique. They can have someone that they like, such as a role model but in the end they have to let the world see their own self. They have to let their star shine!
