Float Upwards on a Cloud of Happiness and Positivity
A couple of days ago in our weekly English Language lesson, we were looking at this article from the Daily Mail. It doesn't really matter exactly what it said, only that it was talking about self-love vs tough love (if you're really really interested, it's the first article if you click this link)
Apparently, children nowadays have too much self-love and therefore aren't told when they do something wrong, leading to a generation of children who refuse to believe that they are capable of doing anything wrong.
Yay, according to some people we're a generation of mini Henry VIIIs. Spoilt and unable to withstand the harshness of criticism.
Hmmm.
Somehow I think that this is wrong.
Yeah, sure there are children who have been completing spoilt by their parents and that's wrong. But the tough love that needs to occur in children such as these is not the same as self-esteem/self-love.
Definitions (if unsure):
Low self-esteem is characterised by a lack of confidence, and the sufferer will experience negative thinking, fewer expectations from life, and they will even ignore/neglect their own needs. Low self-esteem also results in less ability to take compliments- this sounds like most people I know, both my age and older.
See? It's not just the latest generation of children who need better self-esteem.
I can take criticism, because I recognise that it can help me improve, although I often end up feeling awful and stupid (and crying probably will follow criticism) simply because I am a perfectionist (hence the blog name) and criticism means that my work is not perfect.
This leads to low self-esteem and low self-love: no amount of tough love is going to change that. In fact, it will make it worse.
For example, have you ever been crying and someone's just told you to stop crying? As if it's that easy? Being 'cruel' to be kind when someone is suffering from low self-esteem is just cruel.
And writing an article about how 'children these days' are too confident in their abilities and can't see when they need to improve: is it really necessary? Surely we should just be happy that at least some children aren't going to grow up with crippling self-doubt that can lead to self-hatred.
Besides, none us will have the power to order executions, so we'll be safe.
Don't worry.
By the way, the picture of the cat is one of my favourite pictures ever. It's great because it has a cat and because it's about self-belief. Brilliant.
Apparently, children nowadays have too much self-love and therefore aren't told when they do something wrong, leading to a generation of children who refuse to believe that they are capable of doing anything wrong.
Yay, according to some people we're a generation of mini Henry VIIIs. Spoilt and unable to withstand the harshness of criticism.
Hmmm.
Somehow I think that this is wrong.
Yeah, sure there are children who have been completing spoilt by their parents and that's wrong. But the tough love that needs to occur in children such as these is not the same as self-esteem/self-love.
Definitions (if unsure):
- Tough love- promotion of a person's welfare, especially that of an addict, child, or criminal, by enforcing certain constraints on them, or requiring them to take responsibility for their actions (or, being 'cruel' to be kind)
- Self-love- regard for one's own well-being and happiness
- Self-esteem- confidence in one's own worth or abilities; self-respect
Low self-esteem is characterised by a lack of confidence, and the sufferer will experience negative thinking, fewer expectations from life, and they will even ignore/neglect their own needs. Low self-esteem also results in less ability to take compliments- this sounds like most people I know, both my age and older.See? It's not just the latest generation of children who need better self-esteem.
I can take criticism, because I recognise that it can help me improve, although I often end up feeling awful and stupid (and crying probably will follow criticism) simply because I am a perfectionist (hence the blog name) and criticism means that my work is not perfect.
This leads to low self-esteem and low self-love: no amount of tough love is going to change that. In fact, it will make it worse.
For example, have you ever been crying and someone's just told you to stop crying? As if it's that easy? Being 'cruel' to be kind when someone is suffering from low self-esteem is just cruel.
And writing an article about how 'children these days' are too confident in their abilities and can't see when they need to improve: is it really necessary? Surely we should just be happy that at least some children aren't going to grow up with crippling self-doubt that can lead to self-hatred.
Besides, none us will have the power to order executions, so we'll be safe.
Don't worry.
By the way, the picture of the cat is one of my favourite pictures ever. It's great because it has a cat and because it's about self-belief. Brilliant.
Comments
Post a Comment