“Well, that didn’t work. Maybe you should try…”
Instead of:
“I can’t believe you were so stupid and did that.”
This goes a long way in how your child feels about himself and his abilities. The first tells him that he made a mistake and he can try again. The second tells him he IS the mistake and there’s no point in trying again.
Therefore, when you give your child the freedom to make mistakes, you are actually giving them the freedom to try. Children and teens that have this freedom aren’t afraid of new things, which is a component of a healthy self-esteem.
