A scoliosis bracing should help your child, not hurt them. It should also not have a detrimental effect on their self-esteem.
Self Esteem and a Soft Scoliosis Brace
A soft scoliosis brace is easily hid, which will help to keep an adolescent from being singled out by any cruel peers. This is important to protect their self-esteem. According to Dr. Carl E. Pickhardt:
“Given a choice, most people would rather have high self-esteem than low because they link it to personal well being and effectiveness.
From my view in family counseling, self-esteem can have significant impact on relationships. It generally seems that family members are more prone to act badly toward each other when they are feeling bad about themselves. The worse they feel about themselves, the worse they often treat others, the worse they get treated in return, the worse they end up feeling about themselves, the worse they treat others, and round and round the cycle of unhappiness goes. In low-esteem families, relationships can become mutually destructive.
In high esteem families, however, the reverse seems more likely to occur. The better family members feel about themselves, the better they treat each other, the better they get treated in return, the better off everyone tends to become. In high esteem families, relationships can become mutually affirming. Members seem more inclined to bring out the best in each other, not the worst.
So positive self-esteem is not some kind of popular fad or new-age frill. Upon its existence, the happy and healthy functioning of individuals and families partly depend, particularly during children’s teenage years.
I have seen two major self-esteem drops during the normal course of adolescence.
The first drop occurs at the outset in early adolescence (ages 9-13) when the young person’s separation from childhood creates a loss of contentment with being defined and treated any longer as just a child. In this process, many components of self-definition now considered “childish” – beloved interests, activities, and relationships that supported self-esteem – may be sacrificed for the sake of future growth and acting older. A lot of “kid stuff” of significant psychological value can be thrown away. Old toys and hobbies can be abandoned, and even cherished grandparents can be put at a distance.
The second drop in self-esteem occurs during the end of adolescence, trial independence (ages 18-23), when the young person is confronted with the daunting reality of independence and feels overwhelmed and diminished by the future shock mentioned in my previous blog. Feeling not up to this challenge and sometimes acting this way, it is easy to feel disappointed in them selves, to get down on them selves, and even to punish them selves, esteem falling in the process. “Here I am 22 years old, still messing up, and I can’t get my life together!””[READ MORE]
How a Soft Scoliosis Brace Can Help
Let’s face it, kids can be cruel, especially adolescents. Any difference can be focused on and targeted. A doctor should be comfortable working with adolescents.
But with a soft scoliosis brace that is hidden under clothing, it can make a big difference in your child’s self-worth
Read our next article here.
Pivonka Family Chiropractic
1355 S Higley Rd #102
Gilbert, AZ 85296
(480) 892-0022
More Info
