Page 29 - Wanda Weasel

PARENT NOTES
WANDA “WANT IT NOW” WEASEL
TOPIC: Most of us would like to have what we want, when we want it. We may have learned soothing self-messages, which allow us to not get overly upset when that does not happen. Unfortunately, those of us who “want it now” are easily frustrated and give up quickly. It is important to recognize the consequences to this Stinky Thinking and to change it.
It is typical for children to have low frustration tolerance. They don’t see themselves as being unreasonable; they see everyone else as frustrating their attempts to be happy. Learning that “patience and persistence are positives” is the hallmark of maturity.
But it is not a function of just age. Many adults fall victim to the same Stinky Thinking as the character in the story. This demand that things should go a certain way and that others must treat me in a certain way, leads to many interpersonal problems.
This style of thinking is also a major contributor to school failure and school drop out. For someone who has the type to thinking seen in this fable, all the things in life which take time and effort from education to work to relationships will be seen as too hard and will not be pursued adequately. It is not difficult for a child to justify their irrational thinking in this regard. It is also not difficult for them to find peers who have the same set of irrational beliefs.
One of the primary values of this story is to negate the belief, “If others think the same as I think then it must be true.” A significant problem for many children is that they associate with others who have the same type of Stinky Thinking that they possess.
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