Every person has their own unique way to boost their self-esteem. For some, getting a haircut is an effective way to feel confident in their appearance. For others, buying a new outfit or two restores self-assurance and poise. But did you ever think that displaying pictures of you with your family and friends is another powerful way to increase your personal self-esteem?
It’s true—while that may not be the first method you consider when it comes to restoring your self-confidence, proudly displaying family portraits will surely make you and others around you feel good about yourself. And isn’t that a message that we can proudly pass along to those around us, particularly our children?
No matter what age they are at, a child is always at an impressionable age. There is always a lesson to be taught, and there are few lessons to instill in them as important as maintaining and improving their self-esteem.
Here are a few reasons why displaying your family pictures will help them develop the self-confidence that they will carry with them throughout their lifetime.
It Creates a Sense of Belonging
A child seeing themselves in a photograph next to other family members is naturally going to cause them to create some personal comparisons; my hair looks like my mom’s, my dad and I have the same eyes. Those mirrored traits, and their ability to recognize them, creates a sense of comfort. It is knowledge that these people, their beloved family members, are just like them, and that they can always be confident that they can be themselves around those people.
It Helps Identify Their Family Unit
When you are a kid, everything seems big and larger than life, even the members of your own family. But seeing where their place is within their family unit allows them to see themselves as a valued part of that family unit. Although a family portrait or photograph is usually a staged, posed image, it still creates a personal image in a child’s mind of a safe and supportive environment.
It Reminds Them of Their Self Worth
Displaying photos prominently in the home sends your children the message that they are a vital piece of their family’s happiness and that those in the photograph together are important to one another. It is a beautiful way to proudly honor the memories you have experienced and will experience together.
David Krauss, a licensed psychologist from Cleveland, Ohio also says, “I think it is really important to show a family as a family unit. It is so helpful for children to see themselves as a valued and important part of that family unit. A photographer’s job is to create and make the image look like a safe holding space for kids where they are safe and protected. Kids get it on a really simple level.”
Dr. Krauss has used his clients personal photos and albums to aid in his mental health counseling and therapy practice, and co authored the book, "Photo Therapy and Mental Health" in 1983. He co-authored the book, “Photo Therapy and Mental Health” in 1983 that is still considered an important part of therapy.
Research has shown that there is a 65% more emotional attachment to each other when holding a tangible print in your hands as opposed to scrolling through a phone or viewing digital images on a computer. 90% of parents who took part in a study believe that their children were very aware of their own image, and that their children felt more valuable and more a part of the family when their images were displayed in the home.
We believe in the power of print.
Help build your children's confidence and help them feel more valuable and a part of the family by displaying their images in your home. Don't let them live on a device.
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