Parents and Self-Esteem

Parents are the major influence on the self-esteem of  their children, and yet sometimes get so wrapped up in wanting them to do well  or to be the “best” at something, they forget the effect they are having.  I think it is helpful to look at what not to do.  When my daughter was five and a half, we adopted her from South America.  She went to preschool for a time and then Kindergarten.  I speak Spanish but she learned English very quickly.

When she was in Kindergarten, she took a standardized test and scored in the 97th percentile in language skills.  When I picked her up from school and we were walking to the car, I said it was amazing that she did so well, especially as she was still learning English.  We got to the car, and seconds afterwards a classmate and his mother were getting to their car.  The mother was screaming at this child, whom I will call Chuck.  She yelled, “You just did AVERAGE!  AVERAGE!  How do you think that makes me feel?” and she went on to berate him as he got into the car with his head down.  I didn’t say  anything to her, because this kind of emotional abuse is not illegal and I feared making things worse for the little boy.  My daughter said to me, “I guess  Chuck’s mom isn’t so happy with him.”  She asked me why the mother was so angry, and I tried my best to answer her.

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