What power, if any do parents have to give to their children? Self-confidence? –@Pcostanzo
I wasn’t a self-confident kid. I thought I was too ugly. I thought kids wouldn’t like me unless I was special at something, or unless I gave them something as a gift, or unless I lied to them so I would seem more special than I am.
I have no idea what my parents did right or wrong. Certainly I know they did many things right.
But I know, for my own kids, the best way I can teach them to be self-confident is for me to be self-confident and for me to have values.
Their only comparison in life as they grow older will be their parents. If I demonstrate the right values and the right confidence then they will become the beacon to others that I hope for them.
(See also, “I want my daughters to be lesbians” http://bit.ly/jdvDH2)