Reply to Expensive out-of-town concert—how to help teen handle disappointment?

Forum Index » Tweens and Teens

Reply to "Expensive out-of-town concert—how to help teen handle disappointment? "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My 15yo desperately wants to attend a concert that would require travel (7-8 hours round trip), a hotel stay, missed school, and time off work. Tickets alone are already out of budget, and adding travel, lodging, and pet boarding makes it financially unrealistic.

She’s very upset and says I’m “ruining her life,” especially since a friend is going with their parent. I understand the disappointment, but this just isn’t something we can responsibly afford.

How can I help her cope with the disappointment and feel heard, while still holding this boundary? Is this just a “give it time” situation, or are there ways to make it easier on her?
[/quote]

You can't help her cope. She must learn to cope with disappointment herself. And the only way to do that is to experience disappointment.

This is a super important skill, and her "want" here is super unimportant in the scheme of things, no matter how much she wants it. So you shouldn't look for ways to make it easier on her. You can say you're sorry she's so upset. And then you wait for her to get over it. And because it's an unimportant want, if she carries on for too long, you should tell her to knock it off.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics