Tips for Fostering Self-Efficacy in Teenagers

We all believe our daughters can do anything they set their minds to. These tips for fostering self-efficacy in teenagers will help them believe they can too.

When it comes to raising teenage girls, we spend a lot of time talking about self-esteem or a person’s sense of self-worth and value. But another equally important topic that tends to get less attention is self-efficacy. This is a person’s belief in their ability to perform actions to achieve goals. In other words, how capable do they believe they are?

Because we want our daughters to believe in themselves as much as we believe in them, we’ve compiled our top tips for fostering self-efficacy in teenagers.

Start With Self-Esteem

Good self-efficacy starts with self-worth. Without the foundation of healthy self-esteem, it’s easy for teens to fall into the trap of tying their worth to their performance. A few key ways to build good self-esteem in teenage girls include:

Offering unconditional love
Creating space for them to make mistakes
Fostering a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset
Encouraging them to build healthy boundaries and respect them
Practicing active listening
Urging them to use self-compassion and constructive self-talk

Keep in mind that we tend to look to our parents as a model, even if it’s not obvious that we are. Modeling these things, especially positive self-talk, can go a long way toward building good self-esteem in your kids.

Help Them Build Life Skills

You and your teenager are both busy people. Because of that, it can be difficult to take the time to teach them new things. But teaching your teen life skills is incredibly valuable for helping them feel equipped for adulthood.

Beyond this, every time we struggle through the process of learning something new, it helps build confidence. It sets precedence for your teen that they are capable of learning and doing new things.

A few useful skills to teach your teen include:

Cooking
Car skills
Budgeting
Cleaning skills
Goal setting

Some skills are less practical but still require your help and support to learn. For example, teaching them how to stand up for themselves is one of the best ways to teach your teen self-efficacy.

Allow Them To Impact Their Environment

We don’t have much say in what’s happening around us when we’re kids. Our parents control everything from the rules to the decor, and we just have to go along with it. While there is value in parental leadership when children are younger, never allowing teens a say in what’s happening to them can make it harder for them to make their own choices later.

Not that you have to give your teens free rein over the house. However, you can allow opportunities for them to control what happens around them. It can be as significant as discussing your expectations of them or as simple as letting them give you a hand in refreshing your home’s decor. If they can make these choices in your home, they’ll be better able to make them in the real world.