Page 5 - July 2021 Parker Co. 4-H Connection

A Word

from Kayla

Shielding youth from disappointment keeps them from developing
important skills...

Livestock die, schedules don't always work out, finances may not

be there to support a project, and no matter how hard you work
at something, someone might still beat you. Life is full of
disappointments and the sooner we can teach young people to
understand and deal with disappointing situations, the more
resilient they will be.

There are times I've had to be the bearer of bad news and have been met with

responses such as... "well you have just disappointed my child', or "so and so is
going to be so disappointed". Most of these situations have been the result of
having to enforce and uphold rules and guidelines and it left me feeling like the
"bad guy" for doing so.

First and foremost, it is never wrong to do the right thing, and if that means that
Little Johnny or Jill is going to be upset as a result of that, so be it. Secondly, as
adults, we must give young people the tools to cope and work through
disappointing situations. Youth need to have the opportunity to try activities where
success isn't guaranteed because there are learning experiences even in
disappointments.

Let's try to stop shielding youth from disappointing situations and give them the
tools to properly handle those instances. Oh, and don't make someone feel guilty
because they're upholding rules and guidelines that results in your child being
disappointed, that's just not cool.

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