As kids prepare to head back to school next month, a local children’s book author is sharing how to boost your child’s confidence before they head into the classroom this fall. Stéphanie St-Jean released the interactive and empowering children’s book I am me, and that is worthy this summer, bringing young readers through a journey of self-love, emotional awareness and courage. “The book came about as sort of a love letter to my own kids,” she said. “Positive self-talk is so important nowadays. It’s the number one determiner of adult success.” St-Jean shared several takeaways from the book that she shared with CTV Morning Live on Tuesday. She says recent studies have found that emotional intelligence can be a better predictor of success in adults than a traditional IQ test. “It is a myth that grades are the number one predictor of success,” St-Jean says. “Things like ‘I can handle this, I am proud of me that’s plenty’ – those sorts of things incite empathy and resilience in children,” she said. St-Jean encourages parents to teach their kids to practice positive self-talk, something she says comes with benefits. “When a child looks in the mirror and says, ‘I can handle this,’ it quiets their stress alarm and activates the brain that has to do with memory and resilience, so kids really benefit on having that benefit on themselves,” she said. Parents getting involved is key in instilling confidence. “The magic happens when parents get involved,” she said. “When we teach children how to talk to themselves, to look in the mirror and say positive things, it really builds that bonding bridge between parents and kids,” she said. St-Jean adds that when one child feels confidence, it can trickle down to other friends or kids in their community. “The best thing about confidence is its contagious,” she said. “That’s how we influence community change is with the heart of one child.” St-Jean’s book is available on Amazon.com, Indigo and major retailers.
