When kids hit the pre–teen years, insecurities begin to creep in. Many adolescents start to worry that they’re not popular, good–looking or smart enough. In fact, it’s common for even the most self–assured teen to be down at times. In this frank conversation with Josh Shipp, creator of the Identity program for teens, Josh explains how you can help your child avoid the pitfalls of negativity.

“Freak. Loser. Idiot. Geek.” These are just some of the ugly labels kids throw around every day at school. Chances are, your child has been called names even worse than these. The sad fact is that the more times your kid is called a hateful name, the more he’ll start to believe it’s true. This week, we sat down with “Teen Whisperer” Josh Shipp to talk about the dangers of kids using labels, and to hear why he believes your child’s sense of identity is at the core of good self–esteem—and good behavior.

Does your teen have low self-esteem? Maybe he has a lousy self image, or anxiety about fitting in at school or with peers. This week in EP, read about these difficult adolescent issues from Josh Shipp, someone who’s been there and knows what he’s talking about.

When a child has low self-esteem, many parents search endlessly for ways to make them feel better about themselves. They compliment their child for minor accomplishments or lower the standards to make them feel better, and nothing changes. They want to fix the problem now, when in reality, they should be coaching their child on how they can overcome their issues on their own.

Is your child struggling with low self-esteem? As a parent, it’s tough to stand by and see our children feeling like they don’t “measure up” or can’t handle things as well as their peers seem to do. Here, James Lehman, MSW debunks the myth of focusing on children’s feelings at the expense of teaching them how to master life-skills. Part I of a two-part series on “Self-Esteem and Kids.”