One of the main factors that significantly impact the self-esteem of children from eight to twelve years old is the environment in which they grew up. Here, children learn the most significant amount of information and live examples, which they then unconsciously follow (Singh, 2017). Harter has developed a unique model that includes four main components: scholastic competence, athletic competence, social competence, and physical appearance. For children at this age, validation by parents or guardians is of great importance, and if they do not receive it, they may have problems assessing their capabilities. The social environment also has a substantial impact: the success of other children and bullying or ridicule about not good enough results.
Self-assessment in each of the four competencies has an impact on each other. Thus, if a child has difficulty accepting his physical appearance, he may be embarrassed to perform or be the center of classmates’ attention, thereby refusing to express himself academically or athletically (Tirlea et al., 2019). Similarly, if children have problems with the social component, they may refuse to participate in other competencies, considering themselves not good enough and not worthy.
I considered scholastic abilities to be the strength of my self-esteem, as I always liked to study and learn new things. Additionally, since then, I can say that the emphasis on this competence has not changed since I still feel pleasure from receiving new information. Remembering and reflecting on my self-esteem at the age of eight to twelve, I can say that I undoubtedly had difficulties with physical appearance. Some comments from parents and the immediate environment, such words as “chubby,” greatly affected my self-esteem. Perhaps these words had no intention of hurting me; I remembered them and had difficulties communicating with classmates and did not want to attract attention for a long time. Therefore, I would have liked this area to be more vital for me at that age.
References
Singh, S. (2017). Parenting style in relation to children’s mental health and self-esteem: A review of literature. Indian Journal of Health & Wellbeing, 8(12).
Tirlea, L., Bonham, M., Dordevic, A., Bristow, C., Day, K., Brennan, L.,… & Murray, M. (2019). Measuring self-esteem changes in children and adolescents affected by overweight or obesity: A scoping review of instruments currently used in multicomponent weight-management interventions. Childhood Obesity, 15(8), 485-501. Web.