Public Defender's Office and Snowline Joint Unified offer parents practical steps to build children's self‑esteem

Mike Baritz, a teacher on special assignment for Snowline Joint Unified School District, opened an evening workshop thanking parents for attending a session the district requested on self‑esteem.

Brianna Forrest Stevens, supervising social service practitioner for the public defender's office, led the presentation, saying, "Self esteem is how we feel about ourselves and how we perceive our own work." Stevens framed the topic within Maslow's hierarchy of needs and stressed that unmet esteem needs can limit children's ability to take healthy risks and to rebound from setbacks.

The session outlined risks and causes of low self‑esteem, including bullying, trauma, negative cultural messages and breakdowns in parent‑child communication. Stevens said low self‑esteem can raise the risk of anxiety, depression, isolation and behaviors that put young people at greater risk of…