• The Surprising Reason Kids Can’t Handle Disappointment or Failure | Dr. Gilboa – Episode 2

  • We hear a lot of frustrated and worried parents commenting on the way kids handle, or rather can’t handle disappointment. From not being able to buy the gadget they want, not making the team or getting a bad grade, to  not achieving 1st chair in orchestra or getting praise from their boss, teens and college students are struggling with disappointment and failure. In this episode of the Mighty Parenting Podcast, co-hosts Judy Davis and Sandy Fowler dig into this tough topic. They interview Dr. Deborah Gilboa, affectionately known as Dr. G, about the problem, finding out more about what’s happening, how it affects our kids’ futures and what parenting practices can help save our kids from the fallout.

    During the Real Talk segment, Judy and Sandy focus on a parent’s concerns about letting their child take “the long, hard road” that she and her husband took.

    A Favorite Quote from the Show on How To Handle Disappointment:

    “Now that’s a problem you can handle!”

    The High Points of the Discussion on Handling Disappointment or Failure:

    Our kids inability to handle disappointment and failure is causing them to not even try something unless they are certain they will succeed. This is closing doors before they even take a shot at an opportunity.

    Parent’s mistakes are usually due to excessive helpfulness and love.

    Parenting Strategy: Help your kids become problem solvers.

    • Every time you find yourself doing something for your child, ask yourself if they’re developmentally ready to handle it and, if so, let them. But don’t dump everything on them at once or you’ll have a rebellion.
    • When our kids express an issue say, “That’s a problem you can solve!” Then let them solve it.

     More from our Guest:


    Internationally respected parenting and youth development expert, Deborah Gilboa, MD, is the founder of AskDoctorG.com. Popularly known as Dr. G, she is an industry leading speaker, author, social influencer, media personality and mom of four boys. She inspires audiences with relatable stories and easy tools to develop crucial life skills in children, teens and young adults ages 2-22.

    Links for her books here: