Introduction:
It has been known for a long time now that the emotional life and experiences of a child has a strong impact on his interpersonal relations, behavior, and learning. Research which has been conducted in contemporary times has only further emphasized on this factor, also stating that the early childhood years are the most crucial years for children with regards to the development of their future mental health and self-esteem. As we will assert in this paper, there are usually vast differences in the thought processes and consequent actions of adolescents and adults who have low self-esteem because when they were children, this aspect was never paid a lot of attention by the adults around them.

Thesis:
Self-esteem plays a very important role in the way we think, act and form interpersonal relations. Childhood years are extremely critical years for the development of a healthy self-esteem and parents / adults should ensure that they do not ignore this vital aspect, so that their child grows up to be a emotionally healthy adult.

Literature Review:
When children have a healthy sense of self-esteem, they feel that the adults around them love them and accept them for who they are. They feel secure in the knowledge that they are not alone and there exit adults who would definitely ensure their safety and well-being in every possible way. This is a very important belief for a child because if at this time a child suffers from low self-esteem and insecurity, feeling that he is unwanted, unloved and unaccepted, there is a high probability that as an adult, he will suffer from learning disabilities, disciplinary problems, and depression. According to Wood (2000), there are some essential elements which young children need for healthy emotional development.

Commitment
To ensure that a child holds a positive inner picture of himself, he or she needs at least one reliable, responsive adult who they feel connected to, and who is there for them at a permanent basis. These are the years where children are becoming familiar with the basic concept of trust and if at this stage they don’t learn how to trust, or suffer mental anguish due to broken trust issues, they learn not to trust again. Consequences of this are usually inability to form productive relationships. A child who thinks he does not have any reliable adult to count on does not know how to behave with compassion and tolerance because he has not had experience with such emotions and requisite situations. These are definitely crucial years because it is often in these years that a child either learns how to develop warm interpersonal relations or fail at them (Brendan, 1994; Wood, 2000).

Communication
Communication is another important tool in developing a child’s self-esteem because this is the most vital component of social relations. It is through communication that children advance intellectually and emotionally, as they exchange information, share feelings and form bonds. When a child is encouraged by his parents or family members to talk about what he or she is feeling or experiencing, he develops a positive inner image as he feels that whatever inner conflict he is going through, he is loved, accepted and understood (Pytowska, 1994; Wood, 2000).

Boundaries
Building self-esteem in a child during these formative years is not complete without setting reasonable boundaries. It would be wrong to think that in order to build a child’s self-esteem, he has to be encouraged and appreciated at all times. He must be reprimanded for his wrong doings and his punishment should match his act, rather than be too mild or harsh. These reasonable and consistent limits make him or her feel safe and enhance self-esteem. Adults should set achievable standards for children so that all limits are understood.

Aside from this, appreciation is a key element in developing a child’s self-esteem. Also children should be helped if they faced with difficult situations. They should be taught how to share, manage anger, guilt and stress. If it is a particularly disappointing or frustrating time, his self-esteem should not be allowed to plummet and he should be given the feeling that he is still loved and supported, regardless of the crisis.

Self-esteem through the ages of a child:
The development of self-esteem is a lifelong task. From the time a child is born, he begins to develop, refine and change his sense of self worth and identity and continued to do so as he goes to being an adolescent and later on, an adult. However, even at different stages of his childhood, a child tackles this task differently.

When a child is in infancy, his self-esteem is dependent on the fulfillment of his basic needs, which leads him to trust the people who care for him by doing so. Communication comes in here because when he cries, this is his way telling his parents that he is hungry, sleepy, cold, wet or lonely. The feedback that he gets to this conveys a great deal to him. Not just this, but the manner in which his needs are met also sends messages: parents who feed their babies just so they would stop crying convey a different message from those who also interact and communicate with their babies to make eating a pleasant experience. These steps might be very everyday and trivial, but they have a huge impact on a child’s early thought processes and development of self-esteem (Chamberlain, 1998).
When a child is at the preschool age, he becomes independent as he can now feed and dress himself and often likes to imitate adults. He also develops knowledge of his own interests and preferences. Here, self-esteem plays a vital role because it has a close relationship with learning new skills. At a school-going age, they often have experiences which deter their self-esteem and self-concept. Hence, at this age, adults around them need to help by providing experiences that are challenging yet achievable. To ensure that a child has a high self-esteem, adults could help them learn new skills and become competent in them (Page & Page, 2000).