As your child gains self-awareness he is beginning to answer the question, “Who am I?”
Your child sees his ability to successfully complete a given task. This develops as your child completes tasks and receives feedback about how he did. Self-awareness plays a role in the communication your child will have with others, and it is developed by the experiences he has and the observations he makes.
An important part of understanding your child’s emotional development is the establishment of self-awareness, or your child’s overall perception of self, including his own traits, habits, abilities, motives, and social roles.
Self-awareness supports self-identity. Self-identity supports your child in discovering “I.” The discovery of “I” supports self-efficacy or “I can do it!” This all leads to confidence!
Self-efficacy creates positive emotions that your child needs to be successful in facing challenging tasks as he enters school.
Be sensitive and responsive as well as physically and emotionally available to your child. Promote trust, security, and exploration through nurturing relationships. Be consistent and create stimulating environments—all of these will support your child’s development of self-awareness and positive self-esteem.
Self-awareness can best be explained by discussing the three steps it takes for your child to reach this state.
1. When your child was two years old he displayed self-consciousness, which is embarrassment or pride in situations such as looking at himself in a mirror.
2. Now at the age of three your child displays self-awareness. He knows that what he sees in the mirror is “I,” not anyone else, staring back at him. He knows he has an identity.
3. The third step will occur between the ages of five and seven, when your child is able to see himself beyond the mirror experience. He can identify himself in a movie taken a few years back, or in a picture that shows him significantly younger and in different clothes. With your child understanding he has an identity, another aspect of self-awareness comes into the picture: self-efficacy, which is the belief that he can succeed in accomplishing what he puts his mind to.
