Tips to Help Kindergartners Stop Bragging

When my oldest child turned five he developed a larger than life big boy attitude, which unfortunately included uncontrollable bragging about everything. Every aspect of the day suddenly turned into a competition and with the competition came the bragging. While it is good for children to highlight their strong suits, it is not a good idea to let them brag excessively. It can cause them to develop a big head and can cause them to struggle among their peers as they make those around them feel inadequate. I wanted to stop the bragging as soon as possible and while doing so, I learned many helpful tips that turned out to be effective to stop my kindergartner from bragging.

Strong Suits

It is important to sit your child down and have a conversation with them on a level they can understand to stop the bragging. Explain to your child that everyone is good at something and there will be other areas that not everyone is good at. Just because they are better at something than someone else, it does not make them better than another child. And, just because someone can't do something as well as another child, it doesn't mean they are any less than others. For example, explain to your child he may be very good at kicking the soccer ball while his friend is not, but his friend can catch a baseball very well.

Empathize

Have your child empathize with others when your child begins bragging excessively. Use a topic that your child struggles with, for example writing his name. Get him to empathize about how he would feel if his friends began bragging about how well they wrote their names and how poorly he had written his, even though he was trying very hard to do it. Try to get your child to experience how it makes someone else feel when they can't do a task as well as another child. Having your child place them self in someone else's shoes is very effective for getting them to think twice before they begin bragging.

Not Everything is a Competition

Explain to your child that not everything is a competition. They don't always need to compete with others. People do things in their own way, in there own time, and just because it may take them longer to accomplish a task, it does not mean they are doing it wrong or not doing it well. Again, use an example with your child. Maybe your child is not a fast runner. He call still run and get to where he is going, even if he doesn't get there first.

Getting a kindergartner to stop bragging is a difficult task but it can be accomplished if you can get your child to empathize with how others feel when they brag. While a certain level of bragging is normal among children this age, excessive bragging should not be tolerated.