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Let Kids Fail · Commentary - TJ Meadows

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  Speaker 1: Failure isn't your enemy. It may be your greatest teacher.
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  Speaker 1: Author and speaker John Maxwell says he has failed more
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  Speaker 1: times than he can count, but every setback gave him
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  Speaker 1: something valuable in return. He's right. Yet when it comes
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  Speaker 1: to our children, we often treat failure as something to prevent.
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  Speaker 1: A recent Associated Press report examined what happens when parents
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  Speaker 1: immediately intervene after a child forgets lunch, struggles with homework,
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  Speaker 1: or doesn't know how to get somewhere. Experts say children
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  Speaker 1: need opportunities to wrestle with everyday problems because problem-solving is
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: a skill, and skills require practice. But have we made
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  Speaker 1: too many parts of our children's lives too easy? A
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  Speaker 1: January survey of more than 1,000 employed Gen Z adults
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  Speaker 1: found that 20% said a parent had joined one of
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  Speaker 1: their job interviews, either in person or virtually. About one
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  Speaker 1: in five said a parent had contacted a potential employer
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  Speaker 1: or recruited on their behalf. One survey doesn't prove that
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  Speaker 1: parental intervention caused those behaviors, but it should make us
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  Speaker 1: wonder whether some well-intentioned help has lasted too long. Children
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  Speaker 1: sometimes need us to intervene. Some situations are dangerous, overwhelming,
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  Speaker 1: or beyond what they are ready to handle. But support
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  Speaker 1: and rescue are not the same thing. When we continually
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  Speaker 1: solve small problems— the forgotten lunch, the difficult assignment, the minor
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  Speaker 1: disagreement— we may deny children opportunities— to develop judgment, persistence, and confidence.
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  Speaker 1: So when your child comes home with an opportunity disguised
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  Speaker 1: as a problem, pause before stepping in. Ask questions. Offer guidance.
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  Speaker 1: But when the stakes are low, let your child do
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  Speaker 1: the work. Our children will inherit serious problems, including some
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  Speaker 1: our generation has failed to solve. Some problems we've made
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  Speaker 1: for them to solve. They'll need resilience, independence, and critical
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  Speaker 1: thinking skills. Watching them struggle may be uncomfortable now. Letting
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  Speaker 1: them learn from that struggle may be one of the
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  Speaker 1: most helpful things we can do.