The other day a neighbor, Sarah, who is 17, came walking down the block, and we had a brief conversation that reminded me how remarkable she is.
“Hi, Sarah, out getting some exercise?”
“Hi. Not really. My dad is being a poor loser right now, so I’m giving him some time to get over it.”
“Sounds like a good move on your part. Sometimes it’s hard to change your attitude right in front of someone, even when you know you should.”
“Exactly, and Dad gets over things pretty fast if we give him some space.”
Life doesn’t always go the way we intend it to. Even losing at a card game or board game can be upsetting. Teaching our kids how to handle disappointment is usually something we do by role modeling.
So what kind of role model do you want to be? If you spend some time thinking about how you want to handle the difficult moments in life—and how you want your kids to see you handling them—you’ll be surprised at how quickly you can turn around a lifetime of not-so-great responses.
It’s always a choice that begins with noticing when you aren’t at your best.
“…Awareness is what matters, and if you notice, things will begin to change because noticing allows you to choose in the moment.”
— from page 23 of Ten Powerful Things to Say to Your Kids
