Happiness Book Club
Most parents want to help their children grow into the best people that they can be, but it’s often a case of ‘right intention, wrong direction’, writes Lea Waters. Parents emphasise correcting weaknesses in their offspring, rather than building on their positive attributes. This generally isn’t intentional, as we all have a natural tendency to focus on what someone does wrong, and we might even project onto them what we dislike about ourselves.
Parents can feel pressurised into focusing on what society says children should be like, rather than tuning into who their children really are. This can cause us to leap into criticism instead of noticing what’s right, especially when we are tired, stressed or overloaded. But, just because we don’t immediately see a person’s strengths, it doesn’t mean they aren’t there.