Self-Worth

Last Monday, my 8-year-old wasn’t invited to a classmate’s birthday party while most of her friends were. She came home from school devastated, tears streaming down her face. “Nobody likes me!” she cried. Instead of immediately reassuring her or calling the parent to ask why, I remembered our family’s commitment to the Life-Ready approach. I sat beside her and said, “I know this feels really painful. Being left out hurts. But this one invitation doesn’t define your worth.” The look of heartbreak mixed with growing understanding on her face told me we had a perfect opportunity to practice handling rejection in a low-stakes environment. ...

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. ...