Parents of Schoolgoers  Discussion Forum

Name: Editor

15-year-old Aditi's mother sat confused across the school principal's table. What led her to attract the attention of the boys so desperately? Priya, her sister did no such thing even though she was prettier.

She was advised to meet a counselor.
Aditi recalled that when she was 6 and her sister 8, both of them got gifts of similar frocks. Aditi in her excitement wrote a small thank you poem for her parents. The 2 sisters came out wearing their new frocks. Even before Aditi could give the poem to her mother, she heard her mother exclaim, -Oh Priya, you look like a princess, you'll get the most handsome prince. Their father as if in agreement kissed Priya. Aditi waited for her turn to be complimented but it never came. She threw the poem in the bin and never wrote it again!

She started doing every possible thing to pull her sister down-she made up complaints about her to the teachers, tried to spoil her friendships. And when she entered her teens, her behavior with the opposite sex was becoming an area of concern for all.

WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?

1: Comparison makes a child feel inferior.
2: Comparison can kill talent
3: Comparison leads to an indifferent attitude
4: Comparison leads to unhealthy rivalry between siblings. What could have been a special friendship between sisters of the same age group was turning into unhealthy rivalry.
5: Parents should be fair in giving credit

Does your child feel inferior when you praise his/her elder sister or brother? What do you do in such a situation?
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