Dear Mamalettes and Papalettes, please how do I help my 5 years old son achieve confidence. I don't know if I should say he is shy or he just lacks confidence but I really feel its more of self esteem issues. My mum says its probably because I beat him but I don't beat him every single time he commits an offence. I know I'm not as patient as I should be as a mum and I'm always quick to lift my finger but I have really made efforts to stop. Should I stop beating him? What kind of social activities can I enroll him to boost his confidence. Hes intelligent and brilliant but I notice he will rather not talk than say something that's wrong which to me is not good. Please help me as I don't want to make any avoidable errors when it comes to his upbringing.