To develop a brilliant self-concept in a child, one first needs to define what is meant by a brilliant self-concept. When we define brilliant self-concept, it can be one in which a child grows up to become a person who has a high self-esteem. The child should have positive and optimistic self-schemas, which link together to form a brilliant self-concept.
A person with a brilliant self-concept should know his self-worth, and feel gratitude for being 'himself'. On the other hand there should be no arrogance or prejudice in that person. To develop a brilliant self-concept in a child there are a number of things that can be adopted.
Parents and guardians play the most significant role in developing a child's self-concept. They should be very aware that each of their actions, words and gestures act as a message for the child. Children not only imitate parents in all their actions but also look up to them for recognition. To develop positive self-concept parents must be demanding, authoritative, encouraging and supportive. All these together will surely boost the confidence of the child, leading to a better self-concept.
We can take an example to explain this:
There is a child X who is always playful and excited about all the things. However, every now and then he breaks something in the house, makes noise or forgets to do his homework. And for each of his mistakes he is told by his parents that "You are a very bad child! You don't do anything right at all, and always embarrass us." Every time the child listens to this his self-esteem will decrease more. He will start to feel that he is a failure at everything he does and is a source of unhappiness. However, if the same child is treated differently, it will have a different impact on his self-esteem. Like if the child was told that, "I know you are such a good student, always getting stars on your notebooks. So why be naughty and forget the homework. We sure need more stars, don't we?"
Encouragement is a very important aspect of development of a brilliant self-concept. A child should be encouraged to take initiatives, explore new things and try to learn and do the things he/she wants to. In this way the child will learn to trust his abilities, and feel confident in making decisions and choices. While the child learns to the get praised on his success, he/she should also be able to deal with failures. Teaching this can even start from the small board games children play at home. If they lose they should be not be angry or annoyed about it. But they should acknowledge the winner, yet put in all their efforts to win the next game. This will develop a sense of competition in the child. The child will learn to strive and work hard for success. And the eventual success will boost the self-confidence of the child to a great extent, leading to a better self-esteem and self-concept.
While the child learns to trust his abilities, and deal with success and failures, the child should also learn to relate to the culture that surrounds him/her. Culture is an important part of one's social identity, and it structures the self-concept in a major way. A child should learn to adapt, mold and adjust in the cultural surroundings. To be proud of one's culture and society also has a good impact on a child's self-concept. However, a brilliant self-concept entitles a person to be grateful of his possessions and also be liberal and appreciative of other people's beliefs and traditions.
The parents should introduce their child to literature, art and customs of the culture they live in. And let them explore it in an appreciative manner. In this way this child will adopt his social roles in a better way and effective manner.
When a child is made to feel important and desired, while when needed he is given constructive criticism and a demanding environment, he will grow to become a self-reliant, optimistic and happy person