Today after?dropping off boy #2?at preschool, I was attempting to “sell”?preschool to my daughter, using it as a leverage tool for her to?(for the love) go in the potty.
Her response, “Yeah I go to preschool next year and people will like me!”
I have to stop buckling her seat and look at her. ?Did she just say that?
She’s not even 3 but she’s going to go to preschool with the aim that people will like her?
Oh that little girl made my heartrate soar…
As if surviving middle school and high school wasn’t enough, we’re continually bombarded by “likes” in our culture. ?We wait for the?newsfeed counter to tell us how many we’ve gained on social media, and we feel a lack when the internet voices are silent.
Adulthood presents just as much of a longing to belong. ?For people to approve of?my house or my desires– think my kids are well behaved. ?For others to notice my hard work or my quiet spirit (the latter I have never been pointed out for! Ha!).
If this isn’t true, why do we buy a new car or take a great vacation or have our kid?selected as?honor student and immediately put it on Facebook– aren’t we all searching for someone’s notice?
No matter what persona we like to put out, it’s HARD?when others simply don’t like us.
Did I do this to my little girl? ?Did I unintentionally give her the feeling that people have to “like” us. ?I’ve been so careful with my kids (even at their young ages) to quiet myself on body image and attitude (<- ok, that one notsowell), did I give the feeling that I, too, was waiting for the next approval rating from my peers?
I love the words of?Bren? Brown, who in her book Daring Greatly, said, “Nothing has transformed my life more than realizing that it’s a waste of time to evaluate my worthiness by weighing the reaction of the people in the stands.”
{{All the praise hands on that one!}}
So your supportive mom is upset- take notice.
Your best friend is frustrated with you- take notice.
A girl you see at school pick-up is nasty- WALK ON BY.
Crabby lady in the grocery store whines about your kids- WALK ON BY.
We can’t control everyone. ?And really, if we are Christians, God redirects our focus. ?In her book, Unashamed, Heather Davis Nelson says, “We expect the worst from others, and we assume that they think about us as negatively and as much as we fear they do (which is not usually true). ?Yet even if their thoughts of us were as condemning as we fear, we are living for the wrong audience. ?As someone created in the image of God and for the purpose of reflecting who God is, I am created to live before God alone. ?(My emphasis added).
Yes!
It’s hard not being liked, but we are FREE.?
Have you struggled with this, too? ?How do we teach our kids to search for real friends not “likers?”
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Great thoughts! The struggle is real and is not only for girls… My boys have made similar comments. The advice I give them is simple… Be nice to everyone… You are who you can control– not others. ???? But 9/10 the kind actions my oldest does at school is contagious and other peers take notice– whether it is reading to the boy who has disabilities and can’t yet read, or picking the girl as a partner who never gets picked “because he wanted her to know what it was like to be chosen” — these simple acts catch on! (And make us parents feel we have actually done something right– because The Lord knows we can’t Cook a dinner that everyone will like or choose a fun activity that everyone will enjoy at the same time ????) Thanks for sharing– great thoughts to ponder this morning!