"Nothing could be further from the truth."
We were talking about one class. One grade. What would make my boy leap to the conclusion that he was a failure?
"Negatives cancel out positive feedback," I read in some support materials on the Search Institutes's website. I guess my boy had heard enough negative out of me to cancel, at least in that moment, all the praise I'd heaped on him.
"Over time," this report continued, "negatives poison children and give them a 'can't do mind set.' In contrast, positives empower."
Okay, the last thing I want to do is give my boy a "can't do mind set."
Here's what the report, written by the YMCA of Canada, suggests. Keep a small notebook with you for a few days. Write down a plus (+) sign every time you say something positive to your child, a minus (-) sign every time you say something negative.
It could be eye opening.
OMG, what if we did this little survey with the way we talk to our husbands?
I never thought of this, but now I really want to try it out! None of us want to have our children have this mind set. How eye opening!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try this with my 3 kids and my husband starting next Sunday. I will carry 1 notebook with 4 columns. Wish me luck!
ReplyDeleteOMG about the husbands too. *cringe* But....just but, what if we did it to how we talk to ourselves!!! Even our thoughts about ourselves. Just as we don't want our kids thinking they are a failure, our loving heavenly Father doesn't want to see us, his beloved children, thinking negatively about ourselves.
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