Revised and Expanded Edition Prologue | A Mother's Words Today Are Her Child's Future 4
First Edition Prologue | If You Want a Happy Child, Start Studying Self-Esteem 10

Part 1 | Understanding the Birth of a Child

A Child's First Mind, Self-Esteem 23
I'm a really good person 29
Self-esteem is homemade 36
A child is born with a unique soul 43
The 48 Best Jobs Chosen by Youngest Children
Five Geniuses Your Child Has 49
Raise a child in 99 squares 55
Give them a chance to perfect themselves 59
Raising a Child Through a Mother's Eyes 64
Raising a Child Isn't a 20-Year Project 66
Break up with your neighbor for the sake of your child 71
Dream Trap 77: The Trap You Driven to Your Child
Performance Play with Children 82

Part 2 | How to Survive Being a Teen Mom

When the door closes, you're a monk; when it comes out, you're a gangster 87
Guilt is the most dangerous thing for a child. 94
A mother should be her child's first benefactor. 99
Mom, I'm lonely 104
Depth increases 105
How to Give Your Child the Gift of 7 PM 110
Am I spoiling my child? 116
Comprehensive Gift Set for Children 125
The Father's Pretense Is the Most Dangerous Thing 127
Is the "7-Year-Old Civil Service Exam" for Children? 135
143 Ways Moms Communicate with Their Children
Why do I need my mom for exams? 147
It's normal 151

Part 3 | A Mother's Life Interpretation Raises Her Child

Let's trust in the children's saved luck 155
158 for a child who lacks confidence
How Children Face Their Failures 164
Is it hard? Mom was like that too. 171
Don't push, hug 173
If negotiation is possible, then challenges are possible. 177
It's okay if you lack social skills 182
Interpreter, not problem solver 187
How to Raise a Confident Adult 189
Don't try to see the children's flower stalks quickly 194
Mom will do the thinking 198
204 Things Kids Who Survive in the AI ​​Era Have in Common
Children's Day gift for my eldest daughter 210

Part 4 | Being a Mother is an Opportunity

Mom Leadership 215
What is Mom's self-esteem age? 223
All Motherhood Is Right 228
The youngest's Totoro lunchbox 233
The Question Postpartum Depression Asks: "What About Me?" 234
Create Your Own Self-Esteem Support 238
How to Practice Passion 244
How to Fill Your Day 248
Mom, the second semester begins too 251
Today is January 1st 252

Part 5 | How to Live Smartly as a Self-Respecting Mom

I am a sleeping dragon 257
Making a living leads to dreams 260
Share time with your child 264
Developing Independence in Mothers and Children 267
Moms Must Be Smart 273
Facing Incompetence Makes You Competent 275
Enjoy the comfort of the lack 279
Is being a mother hard? 282
283 for working moms returning home

Epilogue | I'm Sorry a Thousand Times, But I'm Still a Mom 286

“A book that made me realize how heartwarming the title of mother is!”
“I was moved to tears the whole time I was watching it.
“Now I can finally understand my teenage daughter.”
“This is truly a must-read for mothers!”

Kim Mi-kyung's Childcare Method, Enthusiastically Applauded by 200,000 Readers
1.85 million subscribers on YouTube [Kim Mi-kyung TV] The definitive life lecture

A mother's self-esteem score is her child's confidence score.
A Self-Esteem Textbook for Korean Mothers
"Mom's Self-Esteem Study" Revised and Expanded Edition 2025 Release!

Am I truly a good mother? Am I ruining my child? How can I raise him well? National lecturer Kim Mi-kyung, who answers the questions of millions of mothers nationwide, has released her childcare book, "A Mother's Self-Esteem Study," a revised and expanded edition celebrating sales of over 200,000 copies.


Kim Mi-kyung, one of Korea's top lecturers, has inspired courage, challenge, and passion in countless people through lectures on stage, TV, and YouTube. She has also lived her entire life as a working mom raising three children when she returns home.
I've always prided myself on raising my children with my own beliefs and philosophy, but being a mother wasn't easy.
After reflecting on what a true mother's role is and whether I am a good mother, I realized this after sharing honest conversations with tens of thousands of mothers at lecture halls across the country.
If there is one thing a mother can pass on to her child, it is 'self-esteem'.
And the key to raising a child with self-esteem is a mother with self-esteem!

The latest revised and expanded edition, published thanks to the support of 200,000 readers, maintains the framework and skeleton of the first edition, which movingly conveyed that a mother's strong 'self-esteem' is what raises a happy child, while also addressing recent issues such as changes in the child-rearing and learning environment in the era of generative AI and the problems of child education centered on Korean, English, and math grades, thereby responding to the concerns of today's mothers who are at the forefront of child-rearing and child-education.
As times change, studying Korean, English, and math becomes useless, but a child armed with self-esteem will never lose their initiative!

#1 bestseller immediately after publication!
Why have so many mothers chosen this book as a must-read for parenting?
What is different about Kim Mi-kyung's child-rearing method?

Adults say that children grow up on their own, but mothers know.
There is nothing more difficult than raising a child.
I go back and forth between heaven and hell about a hundred times a day.
I try my best every day, but sometimes when I look back, I wonder if I'm ruining my child.
Something sad comes to mind.
When something goes wrong with my child, it feels like my fault.
My heart aches and I shed a bucket of tears.
The tens of thousands of mothers across the country that Kim Mi-kyung met were all the same.
How can I raise my children well? Am I truly a good mother? What exactly is parenting? The questions are endless.

Kim Mi-kyung also had a time when she was a new mother.
It's already been 35 years since I started being a mother, raising three children.
She had always prided herself on raising her children with her own convictions and philosophy, but her second child's sudden announcement that he would drop out of high school made her reflect on what true motherhood meant and whether she was a good mother.

You will come to know as you live.
That the road of life is not always smooth.
Even if things are going well, a bumpy road suddenly appears.
Kim Mi-kyung, faced with the trials that befell her and her family, pondered intensely what makes a good parent, what makes a mother who nurtures her child's happiness and dreams, and after meeting tens of thousands of mothers at lecture halls and sharing their stories, came to a realization.
The most important thing for a child is ‘self-esteem.’
And raising a child with self-esteem means being a mother with self-esteem.

A child who will survive in the AI ​​era,
A child who shakes off failure and gets back up again
What Makes a Child with Self-Esteem Different?

The 'self-esteem' that Kim Mi-kyung talks about is easier and faster than the prescriptions given by any psychology professor or child education expert.
The belief that you are a really good person, the strength to get up and shake off any setbacks you may have, the belief that even if you fail now, you will eventually become a great person, and the courage to find your own path - that is 'self-esteem'.


A child with low self-esteem may say, “This is a big problem,” even when faced with minor stress.
“What should I do?” he says, unable to cope and crumples to the spot, but a child with high self-esteem will find a positive interpretation even when faced with great stress.
Even if you are betrayed by a friend, you think, 'That's the end of our relationship, so let's just forget about it.'
It is also important to study well.
But mothers know very well that there are more important things in life.

Kim Mi-kyung's message of nurturing self-esteem over Korean, English, and math scores remains vital even as times change. A child who can ask AI questions, a child who possesses the "power to discover problems" that AI lacks, a child who asks, "Isn't there a better way?" even when failing, a child who can judge, choose, and grow based on their own standards—that child is none other than a strong child with self-esteem!

“I wish my mom was on my side.”
A mother who interprets her child's worries and experiences from the child's perspective!
Study "How to Interpret Your Child's Life," Not "How to Raise Your Children."

So, what kind of mother do children want? Isn't it a mother who picks them up when they fall, a mother who embraces them even when the world pushes them away? Isn't it the kind of mother even my son, too embarrassed to utter, says, "I wish Mom was on my side?"
Kim Mi-kyung emphasizes that in order to nurture a child's spirit and raise them to be smart, you must interpret their life positively and be on their side.
Rather than a mother who scares her child by saying that her life will be ruined if she doesn't go to Seoul National University and asks, "Did you go to the academy?!", the mother should be the one who can interpret her child's worries and experiences from the child's perspective.
What is also needed for that is the mother's self-esteem.
If you want to raise your child's self-esteem, you must have self-esteem yourself.
A child's self-esteem grows from the mother's self-esteem garden.

“I apologize a thousand times, but I am still a mother.”
Let's push away guilt and start studying 'self-esteem'.

This book is divided into five parts. Part 1, "Understanding the Birth of a Child," discusses the origins of self-esteem.
A child is born with the seed of self-esteem that says, "I am a good person." So, a true mother's role is to help the child develop that self-esteem.


In PART 2, "How to Live as a Mom During Adolescence," author Kim Mi-kyung shares her experience of supporting and pulling her high school dropout back up to earth, emphasizing that parenting is not done from the mother's perspective, but from the child's. PART 3, "A Mother's Way of Interpreting Life Raises a Child," offers tips for positively interpreting a child's worries and experiences, and PART 4, "Becoming a Mother is an Opportunity," presents specific solutions for building a mother's self-esteem.
The final PART 5, 'How to Live Smartly as a Self-Respecting Mom', provides information to mothers struggling to balance their dreams, family, work, and children on how to utilize their time spent parenting so as not to make parenting an obstacle that hinders women's growth.

As a woman, a mother, and a working mom, Kim Mi-kyung has lived more intensely than anyone else while raising three children.
Her story of parenting and raising children, which she experienced firsthand, is filled with comfort, encouragement, empathy, and answers for mothers.
To all the mothers in the world who are feeling uneasy and unsure of the right answer because it is their first time, let's give ourselves a strong heart, one step ahead of our children.