No...I'm Not Trying To Trip Her Up!


"Dad. Daaad. Can you play badminton with me?"

There she goes again. Seven years old...and already she knows that with one sentence she can make me feel both annoyed and guilty at the same time!

My daughter Katie is an expert at getting what she wants...WHEN she wants.

It's now 6:48pm...and she knows that I am supposed to finish work at 7pm.

So...I'm annoyed with myself for the sake of ten minutes (because I have to do this)...and I feel guilty that I shouldn't really have ANY excuse NOT to play with her!

But...giving Katie EVERYTHING she wants (which is easy to do since she lost her little brother who was the light of her life)...doesn't do her ANY favors whatsoever.

The only way that I (now) KNOW that she will develop into the sort of woman that Lesley and I hope...is by finding out for herself how to rise to the challenges that are presented to her.

If I put her into a little 'protective cocoon' by not letting her fail...and by giving her whatever she wants...she will soon grow up unprepared for 'LIFE'.

The ONLY way we can find out what is good...is by knowing what is 'bad'.

If Katie never has the 'opportunity' to fail (and, if you think about it every 'failure' IS an opportunity to learn)...then when she is out in the big wide world herself...she will be ill-equipped for what life is REALLY like.

I know I know...we ALL want what's best for our children...but by preparing them to cope with the challenges of perceived failure...we are doing them more good than we could ever possibly imagine.