How self-confidence can help kids learn better

Breast milk is best for your baby

Breast milk is best for babies. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and Health Promotion Board (HPB) recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. Unnecessary introduction of bottle feeding or other food and drinks will have a negative impact on breastfeeding. At around six months of age (but not before 4 months), infants should receive nutritionally adequate and age-appropriate complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond. Consult your doctor before deciding to use infant formula or if you have difficulty breastfeeding.

Abbott Singapore fully recognises breast milk’s primacy, value and superiority and supports exclusive breastfeeding as recommended by the WHO.

The content on this website is intended as general information for Singaporean residents only and should not be used as a substitute for medical care and advice from your healthcare practitioner. The HPB recommends that infants start on age-appropriate complementary foods at around 6 months, whilst continuing breastfeeding for up to 2 years or beyond to meet their evolving nutritional requirements. If no longer breastfeeding, toddlers can switch to full cream milk after 12 months. This should be complemented by a good variety of solid foods from the four main food groups (fruits, vegetables, grains, meat and alternatives). For more information on the nutritional requirements of infants and young children, please visit www.healthhub.sg/earlynutrition.

A healthy level of self-confidence can assist children with their memory skills¹. Children who have confidence in their ability to remember things will be more likely to use strategies to enhance their memory and improve academically, compared with those who lack self-confidence.

Low self-esteem in children may lead to short-term memory difficulties, as they tend to approach learning situations and exams in a state of nervousness and anxiety.

So it's important that you boost your children's confidence level from an early age, to prepare them for tougher educational years in the future. Here are some tips on how you can help improve your children’s self-confidence while boosting their memory skills.

Positivity matters

Encourage and praise your child when he makes an effort to remember what he has learnt, as it helps boost his level of self-confidence.

Don't obsess over what your child can't remember, or judge him on his memory competency, as he can easily end up demoralised.

Learn to stay organised

Teach your children how to organise their study materials, so that they can work on their revision study effectively. Keep notes in files and folders, so that all materials are easily within reach.

How to cope with stress

Assist your child in learning different ways to cope with stress and anger caused by the facts and details your little one might forget. These emotions can sometimes hamper your child’s confidence in his or her memory and learning skills.

Why overconfidence can be harmful

Make sure that your child doesn't become over-confident about what he remembers. The negative effects of being wrong can seriously discourage your child.

¹Self-esteem and memory. Tafarodi, Romin W; Marshall, Tara C; Milne, Alan B, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2003, 9-45. Retrieved on August 27, 2015 from Research Gate: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/10958511_Self-esteem_and_memory.