A student’s self-esteem has a significant impact on almost everything she does — on the way she engages in activities, deals with challenges, and interacts with others. Self-esteem also can have a marked effect on academic performance. Low self-esteem can lessen a student’s desire to learn, her ability to focus, and her willingness to take risks. Positive self-esteem, on the other hand, is one of the building blocks of school success; it provides a firm foundation for learning.

We live in a world where there is an epidemic of low self-esteem. It affects almost every aspect of our lives, from how we think about ourselves to the way we think about or react to life situations. When negative influences and thoughts are prevalent — generated either from within ourselves or through others — it adversely affects the way we feel about ourselves. It also affects the experiences we have in our lives. Over time this can lead to low self-esteem which can reduce the quality of a person’s life in many different ways. Unchecked, low self-esteem may even lead to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression , sometimes with tragic results.

It is critical that children learn to build their self esteem at a young age. This will help them explore new activities and help them succeed in life.

The 2010 census revealed that the family structure and the composition of U.S. households have changed drastically and that the “traditional” family is disappearing at a rapid rate. The family is becoming more complex and less traditional. We need to help children understand that it doesn’t matter who the players are that make up their family.

Statistics are that many Grandparents are raising their grandchildren, maybe that is who children relate to as their family. Today, there are blended families, single parents, domestic partnerships and more. Only 48.4 percent of households have a married couple; 20 percent of all households contained married couples with children. 20 percent have children from prior relationships. 31 million people are single parents or 26.7 percent of the U.S. Pew Research Center.

Self-esteem expert Jack Canfield, of Chicken Soup for the Soul fame, notes that says 80 percent of children entering the first grade scored high on the self-esteem inventory. By the fifth grade only 20 percent of the children were scoring high. And by the time they graduated from high school that number was down to just 5 percent.

Early education can help children develop the skills they can draw on as they grow and develop into teens and adults.