- Remind him that you love him unconditionally. Your love isn’t tied to his performance in school.
- Focus on the positives. Mistakes are actually opportunities for learning. Help your child think about what he can do differently in the future.
- Praise what you can. “Most of your answers were correct on this test. That’s an improvement.”
- Be realistic. If you know he’s doing his best and he still doesn’t bring
- up a grade, don’t let him think you are disappointed. Instead, focus on creating a plan for improvement.
- Move on. Don’t dwell on the failure. When parents spend too much time talking about setbacks, children can have a harder time getting past them.
- Don’t argue with your child’s teachers or coaches to try to get them to change a decision or a grade. Your child needs to learn to respect their decisions.
- Don’t take over. If your child earned a low grade on a writing assignment, talk about ways to improve, but don’t jump in and write the next paper with him.
- Be a role model. Handle your own mistakes and failures in positive ways.
Source: D. Walsh, No: Why Kids–of All Ages–Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It, Free Press.
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