By: Melanie Anderson
I will never forget the day these words came out of my husband’s mouth, “If you have to tell me how good you are, you’re probably not that good!”
We were at the baseball field watching another one of our son’s little league tournaments. All day, left and right, we heard kids and parents alike talking about themselves or their child being so awesome.
My son—then around 9 years old—came off the field telling my husband and I about how awesome he was. My husband turned and uttered the phrase that made me cringe, “If you have to tell me how good you are then you’re probably not that good.”
It made me cringe because about twenty other parents heard him say it. You heard the gasps of parents, and I just knew what they were thinking of us as parents.
But truth be told, it’s true. You are not great because you tell me you are. Your actions will speak for themselves. Kids need to learn this early, and parents need to remind and be reminded. Not one child on a team is above another. They win and lose as a team, and you’re only as good as the bottom player.
So instead of encouraging your child to have an inflated ego and talk so highly of themselves, teach them to be modest, humble, and to help another child that may not be the best player on the team. It will teach them a valuable lesson now, and it will carry over into life.
Community Voices for Health 