Walking through Disappointment with Our Kids

Breaking Bread Podcast

As the saying goes, “we are as happy as our least happy adult child”. Parents get this. How do parents walk with their kids through disappointment? In this episode of Breaking Bread, Brian Sutter gives us thoughtful cautions and helpful suggestions.

Show notes:

Our kids have disappointments.

• Disappointments such as: being excluded, being mistreated, unhappy with circumstances, unhappy with themselves, failure to excel, failure to succeed, losing a job, losing a spouse.

Parents feel their pain.

• Often, we are as happy as our least happy adult child.

Unfortunately, sometimes parents service their own pain when trying to help their children.

• Healthy separation between parent in child is needed in navigating child disappointment.

There are some things parents should not do when helping children through disappointment.

• Parents should not: miss it, talk kids out of their feelings, rescue kids from their feelings, convey that unwanted emotions are bad.

There are some things parents should do when helping children through disappointment.

• Parents should: help kids grieve, help kids manage stories, help kids with their identity, help kids with their God image, give kids hope.