This article first appeared on Meaningfulminute.org Which came first, the chicken or the egg? It’s an age-old question. (Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin deduces from Rashi that Hashem created eggs first, which is certainly beyond this article’s scope.) Today’s chicken and egg question is, does competence build self-esteem, or does self-esteem build competence? World-renowned educator Rick Lavoie writes, “A dynamic relationship exists between self-esteem and skill development. It is a relationship wherein one side of the equation increases at a parallel rate to the other side. As a child improves in self-esteem, his academic competence increases. And as that competence increases, his self-esteem improves. The caring and concerned caregiver must come to realize that positive self-esteem is both a prerequisite and a consequence of academic success.” The value of self-esteem cannot be underestimated. Among other things, children with high self-esteem are generally able to: ● Approach new situations with confidence ● Accept responsibility ● Exhibit high levels of frustration tolerance ● Keep things in the proper perspective ● Communicate their feelings In contrast, children with low self-esteem generally: ● Exhibit learned helplessness ● Are overly dependent on others ● Have difficulty making decisions ● Display an excessive need for acceptance ● Are highly vulnerable to peer pressure To sum it up, self-esteem is essential to the overall development of a child. It is a prerequisite for c
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