Exciting Opportunities in February

Happy New Year to you and your family! I hope you were all able to enjoy time with your family. Now that the second semester is here, I wanted to share some exciting things coming up in February.

On Tuesday, February 11 from 14:00-18:00 at the JW Marriott Hotel Surabaya there will be a U.S. Higher Education Fair with representatives from colleges and universities in the U.S.. This is a free event open to all grades and will be a great opportunity to get your student thinking about their future. For more information and to register go to edusaindonesia.eventbrite.com.

Then on Wednesday, February 19 during advisory, the high school students will meet with a panel of expats and local Indonesians who work at the U.S. Consulate xas we work to bring more career awareness to our students. I will also be working with the PTO enrichment group to have our second book club, How to Talk, Siblings Without Rivalry. If you’ve ever struggled with sibling conflict, please join us and learn some strategies and get some support from other parents.

Nurturing Healthy Self-Esteem and Confidence

I also wanted to share some reminders about helping your children develop healthy self-esteem and confidence. I have found that even our high achievers struggle with self-doubt or how they feel about themselves at times.

Show an active interest in your child, ask them what they like and don’t like, attend school and other events like sports games, even if it’s not your thing.

• Use positive encouragement, give acknowledgement for effort, we don’t always have to focus on the outcome
• Give age-appropriate tasks, having responsibilities helps build self-esteem
• Be aware of criticism and comparison-if you are concerned about your child’s weight focus on healthy eating and exercise, not their weight or being on a diet, make being healthy a family activity
• Focus on your child’s strengths, make compliments based on things they are good at
• As kids get older, let them make some of their own decisions and praise them when they make good decisions
• Give opportunities for self expression, allow them to explore who they want to be, even if you think their outfit looks silly

Explore more about positive parenting and confidence-building strategies at Parenting Science and find resources on college education at College Board.