So many of us are trying so hard to protect our kids from failure of any kind.

Getting it wrong and having regrets is scary! Of course we want to protect our kids from that. But really, when we hover over their homework or swoop in with a plan to fix it when they're struggling, we're protecting ourselves from our anxieties about being a good enough parent.

There's kind of no better time to fail than when you're a kid. The stakes are still pretty low. When kids learn how to struggle and get it wrong and fail, it strengthens their ability to move through hard things and builds resilience.

To talk more about how we can support our kids through failure, I reached out to Jessica Lahey, who wrote a book that I often refer to in my work called The Gift of Failure. Her book has really shaped the way I view failure and how I encourage others to view failure and Jessica also happens to be the parent of a trans kid, so we'll talk about that experience as well.



Check out the full episode to hear about:

• Why we need to allow kids to get frustrated with tasks
• Why adults need to model trying new things and making mistakes
• How to give kids opportunities to learn life skills, even when it would be easier for you to just do it
• How Jessica’s natural openness has been challenged around her much more private daughter’s transition
• How Jessica and her family are leaning on their supports and doing work that matters to them in the face of our current climate
• How Jessica weighs sharing her pride of her daughter with concerns for her privacy and safety

Find out more about Jessica Lahey:

• Website
• Newsletter
• The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed

Find out more about Mackenzie Dunham:

• Wildheartsociety.org
• wildheartsociety.org/downloads
• Wild Heart Society on Facebook
• Wild Heart Society on Instagram

Resources:

• Register for Camp
• Donate to the Queer Community Network
• Differently Wired: A Parent's Guide to Raising an Atypical Child with Confidence and Hope, Deborah Reber
• The Trevor Project
• Be My Eyes
• Stand In Pride