Drama Kids

Developing your own sense of self and worth is a core part of growing up. Knowing that you hold value as an individual is vital on the journey to becoming a well-rounded and confident adult. This is why Drama Kids ’classes use drama as a tool to support children with building their self-esteemand developing their own forms of self-expression and communication, all while having fun and firing up their imaginations.

The curriculum-based Drama Kids programme is taught through weekly classes and specialises in confidence, communication and creativity for all children and young people. It’s all about helping children discover their self-esteem and self-confidence. Both of these are needed to ensure children feel secure and happy in themselves, but many people find it tricky to define each individually.

While self-confidence is a belief in your skills and knowledge to succeed in something, self-esteem is about your sense of self-worth and value. Both come back to the individual, and both can complement one another but sometimes we can get so centred on ensuring children have self-confidence, we can forget to put specific focus on building their self-esteem as well. This is where extracurricular activities like Drama Kidscan support with that all important self-development. Here are five ways drama benefits children’s self-esteem.

1.     Creates a sense of achievement through both big and small wins

There are loads of small wins in drama classes, from volunteering an idea for a story, saying a line with confidence in a production to getting really stuck into a role play or improv activity. Many of these small wins are rooted in imagination, play and team work.  This means children are having fun whilst building up their self-worth through having many small wins in a safe and friendly environment. When children are encouraged to follow where their imagination leads, it teaches them that they have natural strengths as well as helping them build new skills that will bolster their sense of self such as creativity.

There is, of course, space for the big wins as well especially when this is followed by a literal round of applause!

2.     Builds up their resilience

There is always room to make mistakes and learn from them in drama, from getting a line wrong to losing a drama game. This teaches children that there is always space to grow and you can get better at something with time. This encourages a growth mindset and a great attitude to learning.

Creating a positive outlook to making mistakes builds up resilience and supports a healthy self-esteem as it teaches children that yourself-worth is not determined by failures or mistakes.

3.     Shows children they have a voice

Drama programmes such as Drama Kids involve teaching children how to communicate, both verbally and physically. This means children can explore tone, expression and body language, as well as vocabulary and the words they say. Building up these communication skills shows children that not only do they have a voice, but that there are various ways they can let their ideas be heard.

4.     Ensures children know they all have unique strengths

We all have things we like about ourselves and finding what they are to anchor positive self-esteem onto is key for children. Drama empowers children to explore different skill sets from creativity to empathy to leadership to teamwork, giving them the self-confidence to know they are good at something, which positively impacts their self-esteem.  

5.     Makes new friends and builds social skills

Having a good group of people around you naturally boosts your self-esteem as you feel valued by others. Drama classes encourage even the shiest children to talk to others and work together without pressure. Many students find friends for life at Drama Kids who share the common ground of enjoying drama.

Building children’s self-esteem is a hugely important part of helping them feel happy, confident and comfortable in themselves, and drama classes are a stimulating and fun way to help boost it.

If you’d like to find out more about Drama Kids and enrol your child in their weekly term time classes, visit dramakids.co.uk to search for your local academy and book a two-week trial.

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