Can Failure Be a Good Thing?

No one wants children to struggle, suffer, or fail. But, has society perhaps gone too far in giving every child a trophy for just showing up? Local author Maggie Loiselle has written a thought-provoking article in the September 2016 issue of Indy’s Child. “The Upside to Failure: What Kids Learn When They Don’t Succeed” (pp. 18-19) offers parents, educators, and others strategies to help young people learn from life’s speed bumps in ways that can promote their resilience. CRG’s Postsecondary Disability Specialist and ADD/Life Coach, Dr. David Parker, is quoted. He draws upon his new book, Becoming Self-Determined, while discussing factors that are making many of today’s undergraduates poorly equipped to handle stressful situations in college. Helping children learn that mistakes are a normal part of life is as important as helping them develop the skills for dealing with those challenges.