As a parent, you probably go to great lengths to help boost your child’s confidence. However, we often do not extend this grace and support to ourselves. In fact, it’s highly likely that you are your own biggest critic. While confidence is something that ebbs and flows throughout your life and can drop at even the smallest change of circumstance, it’s important that you do what you can to help with feeling more confident as a mom.

Not only does confidence often come hand in hand with feeling happy and content, but it can also have a truly positive effect on your mental health. Furthermore, when a parent is completely confident in themselves and their abilities, they set a great example for their children and encourage them to be the same in their own lives.

Photo by Edward Cisneros on Unsplash

With that in mind, here are some top tips for feeling more confident as a mom.

• Stop competing with other moms. One of the biggest confidence traps that new parents fall into is the result of comparing themselves to others. For example, you may see another new mom post a picture of her post-baby body and wonder why you don’t look like that yet. While these feelings are completely natural, they are not in any way productive. Instead of competing with other people, try to focus on yourself instead. In the long run, it does not matter if you don’t bounce back into your pre-baby body right away – as your body deserves a bit of time to rest and relax – after all, it just brought a baby into the world. By not allowing yourself to compete with others, you’ll notice that your confidence levels increase significantly. Again, this is a great way to set an example for your children, as it encourages them to find confidence within instead of attributing their worth to how others perceive them.

• Put together a self-care routine. As a parent, you will always be busy. No matter how productive you may be on any given day, you’ll likely have an entire list of tasks or chores that you didn’t get around to completing. However, no matter how busy you may be, you must make time in your routine for self-care. For example, you should set aside at least fifteen minutes each morning and night to dedicate to this routine. You may find that your self-care routine coincides perfectly with your beauty regimen and tasks such as brushing your teeth and flossing to achieve the perfect smile. If you feel as though you don’t always have time to floss – you may be selling yourself (and your smile short). Check out the Instafloss Blog for more information.

• Wear clothes that you feel confident in. Whether you are trying to feel more confident in your body at the gym or at home, the clothes you wear can make a real difference to how you perceive yourself or how confident you feel. In this case, the biggest mistake that many moms make is thinking that they need to cover up or hide their bodies under baggy clothes. Instead, you may find that you feel more confident by embracing your curves and wearing clothes that flatter your figure.  

• Exercise more frequently. Exercising regularly can truly transform your confidence. For example, not only can it help you to shed any baby weight you may be holding onto, but it can also help you change the way in which you think about yourself for the better. This victory lies far beyond the scale, as it enables you to learn more about your body than you ever have before. For example, regular exercise helps you realize exactly how strong you are. Furthemore, there are hundreds of different studies that detail the way in which exercise is good for your mental health. This is because regular exercise helps your body produce more endorphins, which by extension, help you feel happier and more confident at the same time. If you haven’t worked out in a while, don’t worry there are plenty of ways in which you can get back in shape after a baby.  

• Celebrate your wins. No matter what goals you may be working towards – it’s important that you celebrate every victory along the way. For example, while you may not immediately see the results you’d like on the scale, you should recognize the victories you have achieved elsewhere. For example, you may find that you have a lot more energy throughout the day or that you can tackle tasks that previously left you feeling winded or out of breath with ease and precision. You may also notice that you are getting stronger or simply feel a bit better in your mind and body. Either way, the more you allow yourself to celebrate your wins – the more confident you will feel.

• Challenge negative thoughts. We are all a little guilty of allowing our negative thoughts about ourselves – whether they relate to our appearance or abilities – to consume our every waking moment. However, in doing so, you are actively destroying your confidence a little more each day. As a result, if you want to feel more confident – you need to change the way in which you speak to yourself. Challenge every negative thought that comes into your head, and find a way to replace it with something positive. 

• Give yourself a break. Whenever you put too much pressure on yourself, be that in your personal or professional life, you’ll find it hard to feel confident as a result. This is due to the fact that you will feel as though you are constantly falling short of expectations and that people may think less of you. Therefore, an easy way to boost your confidence as a parent is by simply giving yourself a break. This will allow you to reassess your goals and find solutions to any problems you may be dealing with instead of allowing them to consume you. By giving yourself some time off, you will begin to feel more confident again in no time at all.