"Jeannie was an 11-year-old girl who seemed down for several weeks. She was making comments referring to herself as 'dumb' and 'stupid.' She told her parents that all the other kids in her class were smarter than she was and she couldn't ever catch up."
"In this kind of situation, the first step would be to clarify if this was coming only from within your child or if external factors were instigating it. You would ask yourself how you have been approaching your child about the quality they are putting themselves down for."
"It turned out that by honestly thinking about how he had been acting, her father did realize he had been pointing out only that Jeannie should have done better. This surprised him since, like most of us parents, he thought of himself as completely supportive."
Many children experience feelings of inferiority compared to their peers. It is essential for parents to identify whether these feelings stem from internal thoughts or external influences. In the case of Jeannie, an 11-year-old girl, her negative self-assessment was influenced by her father's comments about her performance. Parents should reflect on their interactions and seek feedback from other adults to understand the child's perspective better. This approach can help address the root causes of the child's feelings of inadequacy.
Read at Psychology Today
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