Why Can’t You Be Like So and So?
We’ve all been heard it before. “Why can’t you be more like so and so?” “Why aren’t your grades as high as a neighbor’s?” “What do you mean you don’t like football? Some random person’s son does!” Stop it… Just… don’t. Comparing your child to someone else’s doesn’t do anyone any good.
And it’s especially bad when you compare your child to their sibling. You’re not teaching them to try harder. You’re teaching them to feel resentment toward their sibling, who’s naturally gifted at something your other child isn’t. We say this now, but we have the feeling that when our children are at that age, we’re going to become the very thing we preached against.