Ep 216 How to Build Confidence in Kids: The Summer Review Conversation

Summer is full of growth for kids—but how often do we actually stop and help them notice it?

In this episode of The Stress Nanny Podcast, Lindsay Miller shares one of her favorite coaching tools: the Summer Review Conversation. It’s a simple reflection exercise that helps kids recognize how they’ve grown, identify the skills they used to navigate challenges, and carry that confidence with them into whatever comes next.

Kids are constantly developing emotional, social, and mental skills, but unlike grades or physical milestones, growth in confidence and resilience can be easy to miss. A child might go away to camp without knowing anyone, try something that scares them, spend time away from home, tackle a difficult hike, or navigate a worry that once would have stopped them completely.

Those experiences matter—and talking about them helps kids see why.

Lindsay walks parents through how to have a Summer Review Conversation by looking back at the highlights of the summer and asking questions that go beyond What did you do? to explore How did you do it?

When kids identify the thoughts, choices, support, and coping skills that helped them through a challenging experience, they begin building a powerful narrative about themselves: I can do hard things. I can handle uncertainty. I know how to make friends. I can be brave even when I’m nervous.

And the best part? Parents can bring those discoveries back later when kids face their next challenge.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to have a simple Summer Review Conversation with your child
• Why reflection can help build confidence and resilience
• Questions that help kids recognize their emotional and social growth
• How to celebrate progress that doesn’t show up on a report card
• Why asking “How did you do that?” can build self-awareness
• How to help kids create their own narrative of resilience
• What to do if your child doesn’t want to have these conversations with you
• How to use past successes to give kids confidence for future challenges

Whether your child conquered a big fear, made a new friend, tried camp for the first time, traveled without you, or simply handled something better than they would have a year ago, take a few minutes to help them notice it.

Those moments become evidence they can carry forward: I’ve done hard things before, and I can do them again.

Try a Summer Review Conversation with your child this week—and help them head into their next adventure with a little more confidence in who they already are.

Lindsay Miller is a distinguished kids mindfulness coach, mindfulness educator and host of The Stress Nanny Podcast. She is known for her suitcase tricks and playful laugh. When she's not cheering on her daughter or rollerblading on local trails with her husband, you can find her using her 20+ years of child development study and mindfulness certification to dream up new ways to get kids excited about deep breathing. Having been featured on numerous podcasts, platforms and publications, Lindsay’s words of wisdom are high impact and leave a lasting impression wherever she goes.

To sign up for Lindsay's "Calm & Collected" Newsletter click here.

To review the podcast click here.