Almost all the teenagers go through a phase when they are brimming with over confidence. They tend to have an “I know everything” attitude. They also think that they are indestructible and can achieve anything in the world without doing much.
They are filled with so much of over confidence that they don’t pay attention to learning or working hard. Hard work, learning and gaining knowledge of something seems a waste of time to them.
It sometimes also leads to demeaning or depreciating others’ talents and skills. Most of the times overconfidence also results in arrogance and disrespect. Being confident is your strength but being overconfident can be your biggest weakness.
Kids start to take things lightly, they don’t pay attention to anything, because they think, they know everything. It might result in failures and might bring their confidence down to zero. It’s also a way of showing-off among their peers.
It’s usually just considered a phase but it might continue in their later years. It’s necessary that you pull them down enough to show the reality of the harsh world outside.
There can be many reasons behind their overconfidence. They are stepping out in the world out of their comfort zones and don’t know how to handle this exposure. Immaturity is also one of the primal reasons behind their sudden change in behaviour.
They just have enough knowledge to talk about something but not in-depth which leads them to being overconfident. When compared with other kids, they feel undermined hence to show their superiority they tend to show their overconfidence.
As a parent it’s your duty to guide your kid in the right direction. If you feel that your teen is full of overconfidence then you need to help them get rid of it. The following tips might help you:
• Most of the times kids aren’t aware of their behavior. After all, they are just children and don’t dwell upon it too much. You need to point it out to them and tell them it’s in their best interest to not be overconfident.
• In any subject they can work upon enhancing their knowledge instead of just bragging about it unnecessarily. Let them know when they are being overconfident. That’s the first step of realization.
• No doubt, praising and rewarding them when they achieve something leads to betterment of their work. It helps them work harder. But if you constantly keep praising them then there might be negative consequences to it.
• They might think that they are too good to do anything as they have already proved themselves. Limit your praises; this will help them to try out new challenges.
• If you are constantly comparing your kid with others, you need to stop it immediately. This builds low self-esteem and undermines them.
To overcome it and prove themselves they create an illusion of overconfidence. Do not talk about others’ failures in front of your children as well.
• Teach them to accept healthy and positive criticism. This will bring down their overconfidence. Overconfidence might have overshadowed their perspective but it’s important that they learn to accept criticism from others.
• Ask your kids to test their abilities. This will give them a real glimpse of what they actually know and what they are pretending to know. Teach them to take slow and steady steps and they’ll attain success soon.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day”, just like that they have to work hard to reach their final destination and cannot be done in a day. Teach them to be honest with their abilities.
• Overconfidence can sometimes lead them to make promises or commitments, which can be difficult to accomplish. Ask them to think properly and rationally before taking any further steps.
• Bring them out of their fantasy world and show them what reality is and how tough life can be.
• Be a good role model to them and show them how hard you work to achieve what you are today. Your child looks up to you and hence will imitate what you do. Set a good example.
• Shower and pamper your children with love but don’t overdo it. This might get them thinking that they can get away with anything they do. Let them know that there will be consequences if they are ill-mannered.
The most important point is to help your child be with utmost patience and show them that it’s okay to make mistakes. There’s nothing wrong in it. But they should learn from it. Moreover overconfidence in teenagers is just considered a phase and they’ll outgrow it soon.
Summary
• Almost all the teenagers go through a phase when they are brimming with overconfidence. They tend to have an “I know everything” attitude.
• They are stepping out in the world out of their comfort zones and don’t know how to handle this exposure.
• Most of the times kids aren’t aware of their behavior. You need to point it out to them and tell them it’s in their best interest that they should not be overconfident.
• Teach them to accept healthy and positive criticism. This will bring down their overconfidence.
• Overconfidence in teenagers is just considered a phase and they’ll outgrow it soon.
