If you don’t make boosting your child’s self-esteem “one of your top priorities” as a parent, you could jeopardize their future success and happiness, says mental performance coach Cindra Kamphoff.
“Parents need to be more aware of the confidence crisis in America today, and they need to be really deliberate about increasing the confidence of their kids,” says Kamphoff, the founder of the Mentally Strong Institute, a mental coaching firm for business leaders and athletes.
Nearly half of all Gen Z workers in the U.S. struggle with inadequate confidence, including negative self-comparisons to those around them, says Kamphoff, citing a survey of 750 subjects in The 2025 National Research Study on Confidence, which she co-authored. Other studies have had similar findings, including that under 60% of U.S. teens feel they generally get enough emotional support, according to a 2024 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nurturing confidence in your kids helps them develop the independence and resilience they’ll need to overcome life’s challenges, learn from inevitable setbacks and continue taking necessary risks — all of which are key traits in happy, successful adults, research shows.
