Self-esteem in children is an issue that is finally beginning to be recognized as an important cornerstone in healthy development. If you, as a parent, are careful to nurture self-esteem in your child from the day she's born until the day you die, you will have given her a wonderful gift. At whatever age, infancy through adulthood, humans need to believe that they are lovable, respected, and worthy. No one can implant that believe more effectively than parents.

When you raise your child to eat well so she has few illnesses and more than enough strength to cope with whatever her day brings, you are empowering her. She becomes very confident of her ability to handle whatever may come up.

One of the worst impediments to self-esteem is obesity. When a child feels uncomfortable with her body and thinks other children are laughing at her, she feels unworthy. She becomes defeated and will often turn to junk food for solace from the very condition the junk food caused in the first place.

Teaching your child to eat correctly and exercise more gives her a sense of power. Even at 10 or 11, she's in charge of her own body and she's proud of what her body looks like and what she can accomplish with it. If you can instill this feeling in a child, you have a winner - a kid no one can hold back even for an instant!