Handling Being Compared to Others: Building Self-Worth Independence in Children
Last Monday, my 8-year-old came home upset because her teacher said another student’s artwork was “the best in the class.” She looked at me with tears and asked, “Does that mean my art isn’t good?” Instead of immediately reassuring her or contacting the teacher, I remembered our family’s commitment to the Life-Ready approach. I said, “I know that hurts. Your art is unique to you. How can we think about this?” The look of hurt mixed with growing self-awareness on her face told me we had a perfect opportunity to practice handling comparisons in a low-stakes environment. ...