Beware! There is a thief near you! And that thief is not after your money or your new plasma TV. This thief is after something far more valuable.

The thief is after the Self-Esteem of your most precious possession...your child.

My friends, we live in a largely negative world. Unless we are vigilant, that negativity will drain the Self-Esteem from our sons or daughters. Protecting the Self-Esteem of our children is an ongoing, never-ending task. The responsibility falls to you. If you don't undertake this urgent responsibility, who will?

Our Instructors use the following approach to developing and protecting Self-Esteem.

You can use these strategies, too!

1. Always remind your child of their past victories and accomplishments. Let their self-image be built upon a recollection of past successes. Let the memory of failures and disappointments fade away and be used as learning tools.

2. Help your child strive for improvement....not perfection. Help them to create reasonable expectations for performance.

3. Develop a family heritage. Teach your child to be proud of your family. Tell them about the achievements and sacrifices of their parents, grandparents, and other relatives.

4. Do provide feedback; don't be overly critical. If you do have to give negative feedback, especially to an older child, always criticize privately; on the other hand, always praise publicly!

5. Teach him the value of telling the truth. Lying steals Self-Esteem!

6. Appearance counts! Guide your child into taking pride in their appearance.

7. Try to guide them toward friends who have high Self-Esteem. Help them to avoid negative people.

8. Paint the big picture with your child. Help them to dream big dreams about her future!

9. Be healthy! Exercise regularly; eat a balanced diet.

10. Become an expert! Pick a couple of activities that are important to your child and help him to MASTER them! Don't allow them to flit from activity to activity.

This has been brought to you by the Instructors of the United Martial Arts Center. UMAC has been rated in the top 100 Schools in America by Black Belt Schools of America and United Professionals. We are on our 10th year of providing exemplary martial arts educational programs for the Western New York community.