By Basheer Ahmad

First and foremost, talk to your child. Ask questions; find out what is happening in their world. Are they bored? Is the teacher giving them the motivation, help and guidance they need? Are they being teased or bullied? The things that you dont see or hear about may be a major contributing factor as to why your child is having problems.

Asking lead in questions can give you a great insight to what is happening in your childs school environment. If there is a problem you can make an appointment with the school principal to address your concerns. If there are serious problems, changing schools, enrolling in a private school or maybe even home schooling may be a more favorable solution.

Could your child have a learning disability? This is often overlooked as many parents prefer not to think their child may have some form of learning disability. Attention Deficit Disorder, dyslexia, the inability to read, write or even do simple arithmetic are common disabilities found in children. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology at least 1 in 10 children are affected by some form of learning disability.

There are many qualified professionals in every city that can diagnose your child. Most employers these day offer family assistance programs as part of a benefits package, so getting your child diagnosed can possibly not cost you a cent. At the very least doing research at your local library or on the internet can provide you some tools to help you identify if your child shows signs or symptoms of a possible disability.

Try different approaches to helping your child learn. Play learning games with them. Use flash cards or games that require spelling or doing math. There are learning CDs for the computer for kids of all ages. More and more interactive DVDs are coming on the market all the time. Your child may just need a more fun and stimulating way to learn the basics. Remember back when you were a child, how did you learn your ABCs ? Are you singing it in your mind right now?

Lastly and certainly not least, be a positive influence in your childs life. Be their coach, mentor and yes their parent. Discipline and fear motivation rarely correct any problems, in most cases it makes it worse. Build your childs confidence you will see the difference.

Every parent wants the best for their child, do whatever it takes to ensure your childs future is a bright one.

Basheer Ahmad is a freelance internet infopreneur and education consultant from Singapore. Visit his website at : http://www.singapore-math-online.com

He also invites you to subscribe to his FREE , top-rated study tips newsletter and FREE education reports at : http://www.secrets-to-study-success.com

By Tony Robinson

These cues can by extreme shyness, hesitance to begin projects, negative attitudes towards him or herself, overt frustration at having to try new things, and inability or fear when it comes to making even the simplest decision.

Parents can begin teaching self confidence immediately after their child is born. Provide endless encouragement when your child is developing new skills or trying new things. Young children especially need encouragement since they are continuing to develop new skills on a daily basis.

Whether physical or mental, these important developmental times can range from your child taking his or her first steps to learning to read. Each step in your childs development is exceedingly important and, in order to be completed as soon as possible, should be thoroughly reinforced in a positive manner. This positive reinforcement will encourage your child to work harder in completing the task at hand.

Teachers can teach self confidence from the moment a child enters the classroom. Carefully monitor each childs progress in each subject and skill covered in your curriculum to ensure your students are accomplishing their academic goals and not falling behind with any aspect of your teaching. This is invaluable to teachers of all subjects and all ages of children. Create ways to praise or reward your students when classroom or individual goals are accomplished.

This will encourage children to strive to meet these goals and reinforce their self confidence. Take great care not to use negative measures to reproach or criticize your students. Correcting issues using a positive demeanor can enable the child to understand your point more clearly while retaining their self confidence. Negative tones or attitudes taken towards your students can do considerable harm to both their mental and emotional development and well-being.

Create situations where your child can work on his or her self confidence. Enroll your child in a sports program or other activity to allow him or her to express interests and develop new goals. A child who participates in activities such as athletics, dance, scouts, or music has more opportunities to try new things and develop new skills. These opportunities will allow children to further develop their self confidence while gaining new friends and experiences in these activities.

Take great care to support your child in any activity he or she decides to undertake. Your child may not be the next great baseball player or a world famous piano prodigy, so be aware of the varying levels of success that can be accomplished. A child can succeed by maintaining a positive attitude and attacking each hurdle with enthusiasm and enjoyment. Do not necessarily associate success in the activity with the overall success of the experience.

Even though your child may not be able to dunk a ball with professional precision, he or she will have gained a phenomenal experience and self confidence during the duration of the activity.

When working with children of any age, you must lead by example. If your child shows that you possess a great amount of self confidence, he or she will develop a great amount of self confidence as well. Conversely, if you lack self confidence and show your child this by being negative, hesitant, or meek, he or she will not understand or appreciate the necessity of having high self confidence.

Tony Robinson spent many years as a School Teacher and Administrator. Always of concern was low self esteem and a lack of confidence with some students. For more information visit http://www.better-self-esteem.com