The ability to express one’s thoughts, emotions, and feelings is known as self-expression. It is an important feature in the growth and development of children. When a child is able to express what they want or convey how they feel, it helps them open up better. This happens when the child is comfortable with the environment around them and feels loved and cared for by all.
However, not all children open up that easily. Many of them are afraid to express themselves, and the reasons could be many, for instance, the fear of rejection, judgment, ridicule, etc. Even if they feel that their feelings are ignored, or they don’t find it comfortable to talk about their feelings, such kids are more likely to not open up and keep themselves confined to their own boundaries. Now, a very common question that people often ask is – Why is it even an issue if the kids don’t express themselves openly? They can always learn the art of self-expression later on in life!
But no, it is not like that! It has been seen that children who fail to learn self-expression in their childhood years face issues with respect to the development of their communication skills as well as personality development. It also interferes with their emotional development, and as a result, such kids generally grow up with very low confidence levels and poor self-esteem. This is why we, at Delhi Public School Kota, ranked among the top 5 schools in Kota, always pay attention to honing our pupils in the art of self-expression and regularly provide them with platforms where they learn to express themselves openly.
We have seen that in addition to letting the kids open up and voice their feelings, self-expression also provides them with several other benefits, such as:
- Building their independence, creativity, and problem-solving skills.
- Instilling them with the confidence to convey their opinions and ideas.
- Letting them connect with the world around them more effectively.
- Enabling them to deal with and cope with their emotions by communicating them aptly.
- Helping them improve their language and vocabulary as they are able to speak their thoughts aloud.
As you can see, it is rather imperative to work on the self-expression skills of children to help them grow into confident, happy, and responsible individuals. And on that note, we, at DPS Kota, one of the best 5 schools in Kota, have brought forth for you in this article today a few tips that will help you build your child’s self-expression skills.
- Let them indulge in some free play:
This is perhaps one of the best ways to make the kids express themselves naturally. When children indulge in playing with other kids, they learn several interpersonal skills, like teamwork, relationship-building, cooperating with others, respecting others, and much more. In the process, they also learn to express themselves in a clear and better way so as to make their place in their group of friends.
- Converse regularly with them:
Having regular conversations with your child can help them communicate better. You can initiate topics, add details, or ask them questions and make the conversation descriptive. This will help them voice their thoughts more openly and also improve their communication skills.
- Encourage them to explore different art forms:
Arts provide an avenue for the kids to express their feelings without saying anything. It serves as a creative outlet for strong emotions and feelings that are otherwise difficult to put into words. You can encourage your child to explore different forms of art like painting, sketching, drawing, coloring, singing, dancing, etc., and see what they are interested in. This won’t just provide them with a platform to express themselves freely but also help them hone their artistic side better. They would then be in a far better position to communicate their ideas, emotions, and experiences in a clear and precise maneuver.
- Let them maintain a diary or a journal:
You can encourage your kids to write about their day, thoughts, feelings, etc., in a diary, or they can also maintain a journal to record their feelings and thoughts. This might seem to be a very simple activity, but it is a good way to help them get clarity on their thoughts.
In a nutshell, self-expression is an important element in ensuring the appropriate mental, emotional, as well as social growth of children. Thus, it is important that just like the other aspects of child development, due focus is also laid on helping the kids learn the crucial art of expressing themselves well. However, when doing so, keep in mind that expression should come naturally and shouldn’t be forced upon them. Support and understand their efforts. Stay connected with them and shower them with the love and care they need. Let your kids know that you are always available for them. Only when they feel listened to, loved, appreciated, and supported will they open up and speak their heart out to you.