Tips on Tuesday: Comparison Reminder

Ah, spring...the time of year when trees and flowers are blooming, kids are outside playing and I start hearing comparison after comparison.

I've blogged about this before, but this issue has been a little more apparent this year. It seems that as school winds down, I hear more and more from parents talking about how well their child or children did on tests, on their report card, etc. This is accentuated even more by awards ceremonies, honors nights, awards banquets, end of year ceremonies and promotions and moving up ceremonies.

My point is that each parent should be proud of their child for his or her accomplishments. Any accomplishment is a big one...until we start comparing. I was once told by a very wise friend (and mother to a child older than my firstborn) that a comparison is only meant to put one person down. I took that thought to heart and have made it a mission to stop comparing. I work hard not to compare my children against each other--or their friends. I don't compare my kids to your kids or your kids to their classmates. I want to celebrate each child for who they are and what they have managed to achieve.

If it's an accomplishment for one of my children to achieve straight A's and for another to achieve straight C's, we're going to celebrate each child equally. I don't know why I am hearing more comparisons than usual, but I wanted to remind all of us to think about who we plan to put down when we compare...and maybe think twice about the comparison game.

Celebrating with you today!