10 Ways to Help Youth Celebrate their Achievements

Whether it’s a major milestone or an everyday accomplishment, achieving a goal is no small feat. From winning a contest at school to getting through a tough week, celebrating youth’s achievements is crucial for building their self-esteem. Acknowledging their efforts demonstrates your support and interest in their accomplishments, motivating them to continue pursuing other goals with confidence.

It is also important to remember that everyone is different! Some youth may not react well to energetic displays of excitement and prefer something more lowkey, while others prefer loud and extravagent celebrations. Consider what works best for them, and understand how to celebrate under their terms.

From big to small celebrations, here’s a list of ways you can celebrate your youth’s achievements:

1. Make Time

Make time to celebrate your child’s achievements, and do so promptly! Celebrate sooner than later, give them your undivided attention, and show them that you’re invested in their success.

2. Praise them!

It seems really obvious, but how you praise youth can impact how they respond to future successes and pursue goals. Praise should be sincere and specific, emphasizing their ability rather than the outcome. You should also avoid comparing them to other people and over-praising them.

Here are some suggestions from Parenting from Brain:

Try…

"You came up with a really great solution for that question!”

“I like the way you are using different colors on this drawing.”

“You are good at playing this game!”

“You were really generous to share your cookie!”

Instead of…

“You’re a genius for solving that problem!”

“What an awesome painting you made!

“You are so good, just like your sister!”

“What an angel you are!”

3. Share their achievements with your friends and family

Sharing your child’s accomplishments with other people is a clear way to demonstrate how proud you are of them. Receiving encouragement from other people also shows your child that their positive behavior is met with communal appreciation beyond the support of primary caregivers.

Before sharing your child’s accomplishments with others, however, check with your child first and make sure they feel comfortable with you doing so. Additionally, consider how your words impact other parents and youth and avoid making others uncomfortable with needless bragging.

4. Display their achievements

Allow your child to showcase their achievements! Frame their artwork, put pictures up, display their trophies and medals—you can even make a “hall of fame” in your home! Making their accomplishments visible in public areas, shows them how proud you are of their work and motivates them to keep working hard.

5. Celebrate together with food

Go out for a congratulatory ice cream, or even plan a family picnic or tea party! It doesn’t need to be too extravagant, but include some ofCelebrating over food is a great way to bond with family and revel in excitement together.

6. Start a victory tradition

Especially if a child has siblings, the success of one child may fuel a sense of jealousy in other siblings. You can create a victory tradition to celebrate everyone’s successes equally. For all successes no matter how big or small, follow the same rules of the tradition to celebrate each other’s successes equally. This can be anything from a family dance party, a celebratory, decked-out waffle breakfast, or something else that’s special to your family!

7. Create a victory scrapbook

Every time your child accomplishes something new, take a picture and add it to a scrapbook. Let them decorate each page with art and stickers, and this could become a fun arts and crafts activity! By “immortalizing” their success in a scrapbook, this also helps your child’s accomplishments feel important and valued.

8. Surprise them with a banner

For bigger accomplishments like completing a school year or even getting a drivers license for your older children, surprise them with a welcoming banner to surround them with support and encouragement. However, consider how your youth would react during public celebrations, since some are more sensitive to attention.

9. Decorate their bedroom door

For more significant accomplishments like a graduation or winning a contest, surprise your child by decorating their bedroom door! It’ll be a pleasant surprise for them when they come home. You can even involve other family members and friends to show that others are there to support them!

10. Give a simple gift

Gift-giving is a classic way to demonstrate your appreciation and celebrate with other people. The gift doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate either—you can even find a gift that reminds your child of the accomplishment, such as a small trinket or a nice frame to display artwork