[Source: Your Therapy Source]

Self-efficacy is the belief in yourself that you are capable of achieving a goal.  As therapists, teachers, and parents we can help with the development of self-efficacy in children to teach them to persevere by reinforcing their strengths and helping establish steps to reach their goals.  Higher levels of self-efficacy are associated with increased positive thinking, greater resilience, higher motivation, increased effort and decreased stress.

During early childhood, four main building blocks of self-efficacy in children begin to develop:

1. Mastery Experiences:  When a child performs a task successfully, it strengthens his/her sense of self-efficacy.  On the contrary, when a child is unsuccessful at a task, it decreased his/her sense of self-efficacy.  This is why providing children with “just right” challenges is so beneficial.

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