Kimberly Lybbert, a high school teacher and mother of six, claims that students will grow up to love themselves more if adults in their life are more supportive of what they do. She asked some of her students to write down their ideas about adults around them, and one written by a seventeen-year-old girl read, “an idea should not be invalidated by the age of its creator.” Although many parents believe they are doing what is right for the kids, it may actually be dragging them down.
Commonly, grown-ups will scold children when they do something wrong, but they should actually ask them about what happened. The children already know that they have messed up, so parents should not lower their self-esteem by becoming angry. This will allow students to feel like they are supported, and because they know what they did was not good, they will try their best not to do it again. Asking about what happened will make their child feel better about themselves, making it much better in the long run if something were to happen. Although grown-ups think scolding their children or calling them lazy will motivate them to not do/do things in their future, there are much better alternatives to it. In addition, adults should learn to trust that their kids have ideas that are just as important as adult’s. One example Lybbert gives is about Abraham Lincoln. She says that Lincoln could have become an amazing farmer like his father raised him to be, but he decided to follow his dreams and learn about slaves and ended up becoming an amazing president and freedom fighter. Even though right now, teenagers may seem like lazy people, if they are given trust from older people, they can grow up to love themself more.