ADDitude - Summer 2013

PARENT-TO-PARENT
Q
ADDITUDE ASKED:
How do you make your child feel better after
the world makes him feel bad?
Sometimes the world misunderstands your wonderful son or
daughter, and sends him or her into a tailspin. ADDitude readers
tell you how to lift your child up and dust him off.

at something, that usually does the trick. Sometimes I do a silly dance or make a funny face. Later, when he is calmer, we discuss his problems.

Brooke McBride Hardyston, Ne w Jersey

> I tell him that God doesn’t make junk. Everyone is made the way they are for a reason. He needs to figure out what his purpose is. I remind him that no one is perfect, and admit some of my shortcomings to him.

Cathy, Ohio

> I hold him and tell him that I am thankful that God gave him to me, and that I wouldn’t change a thing about him. Then we go out for ice cream and a movie.

C.C. Nicaragua

> I sit close, but not touching or looking at her, repeating the names of everyone who loves her. Eventually, I throw in a few things like “your cat gives you fluffy love.” This makes her smile.

> Remind him that we all know how great he is, and one day the world will know that, as well.

An ADDitude Reader

Buy him something that floats his boat!

M’s Mom Little Rock, Arkansas

Carolyn Rhode Elon, North Carolina

> Acknowledge anything, big or small,
that your kid does well.

> I explain to her that even though things are hard sometimes, we are all stronger than we think we are. I show her things that only people with our “special brains” can do. I remind her that she is not alone, that her family is there. I do this while we cuddle on the couch.

Amanda Leyva Marietta, Georgia

> I ask him what is making him feel bad. When I’ve listened for a bit, and he seems ready, I talk about something he is interested in. Then I give him “sideways” compliments, noting, as we talk, how good he is at noticing details, remembering interesting information, or anything that I can tie to the conversation.

Tereza Hamdan Queens, New York

> I celebrate the way her brain works, pointing out how hard she works to finish her homework, how creative she is, and the entertaining solutions she comes up with. She’s proud of her differences, and this builds her up before the world can make her feel bad.