Are We Preparing A Child To Face Failures?

A survey conducted by UNICEF and Gallup in early 2021 among the age group of 1524 found that one in seven people in this age range in India often feels depressed or has little interest in doing things.

- Ankur R. Gupta

Furthermore, in an epidemiological study from India, 14.5% of adolescents were found to be suffering from anxiety disorders. Various factors contribute to this mindset, such as high expectations of of fitting into a image parents, peer pressure particular societal norm, consciousness in social media, fear of taking responsibility, and many more. But the common factor that dominates these contributors is FEAR. The fear of dealing with rejection and failure. These young adult minds struggle hard to cope with disappointments when things do not go as per their expectations. Why? Because not enough opportunities were provided to them to prepare for failures in their childhood.

Confidence to face the fear gets seeded in Childhood

Madeline Levine, Ph.D. and an author of The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids, says- "In recent times, parents see failure as a source of pain for their children instead of an opportunity for them to say/feel, 'I can deal with this". They are trying to act as a protective shield for their children against the disappointments attached to the hard facts of life, especially in terms of rejections, failures, and heartbreaks. It is normal, but this needs to be checked from changing into "Overprotectiveness". In the flow of doing good for a child, often Parents are dwarfing the mindful growth of the Child by moderating the development of essential life skills, such as problem-solving, risk-taking, and resilience.

Provide a child an opportunity to learn from mistakes