It s the kind of stuff my daddy said all the time. You re going against the grain. One of Cathie Looney s big beliefs is that parents get off track by fretting over self-esteem in their children instead of focusing on character. Self-esteem is cotton candy. It s not solid, she said.
Self esteem is about feeling good.
Character is about doing good. Reality therapy teaches children that we are choice creatures, that we are not victims of our biology and upbringing or circumstances. Those things might effect us, but they don t absolve us. Our inescapable responsibility is to make choices, this wise mother states, We can t say, The devil made me do it, she said. God votes for you.