Sample TR Household dialogue:
“You’re a great kid.”
— ‘I know.’
There are few points in parenting more satisfying than hearing your child assert their own goodness.
Our kids know they are good kids because we tell them. We point out when they do the right thing, be it holding the door for someone, or saying they are sorry for something, or offering to help someone else. They are good kids.
This doesn’t mean they never do wrong. Of course they do. They make mistakes. They get angry. They say a hurtful thing.
But nothing they do changes their basic nature- they are good kids. Good kids who make errors. Who have lapses in judgment.
So when Bluey or Plum make a mistake, we can address the error without questioning their goodness. Good people screw up on occasion. Good people have bad moments and bad days.
Our hope is two-fold:
1. We hope when our kids are admitting to mistakes, or caught up in a mistake, they remember not to internalize it.
2. We hope that when our kids find other people erring towards them, they remember that people are generally good and that our kids treat those around them with compassion and understanding. Doing a bad thing doesn’t make you a bad person.
You’re a good kid.