Terrific Kid

Principal, Mrs. Bond, reads his teacher's comments
 as Sean gets his award.

I would guess that most parents believe they have terrific kids. We all have our moments when maybe we think otherwise, but in the quiet moments the sweet and wonderful things come to mind.

It is so for me. I believe my kids are all some of the best in the world. I've told each of them that I thank God for them every day.

I have mixed feelings about awards. I know a lot of people really like them and think awards motivate, but I'm not sure I agree.

So when I found out Sean's school hands out Terrific Kid awards I wasn't all that thrilled. Each month Sean would come home bummed out because he wasn't chosen as a terrific kid. He thought he was doing everything right, he wasn't getting into any trouble, etc.

I kept telling him he is a terrific kid and we don't need other people to tell us that. I encouraged him to keep doing the things that make him feel good about himself and who he is.

This month he was chosen. The theme this month was Inspirational. So each kid who was chosen had to be inspirational in some way.
Here's what Sean's teacher wrote on the back of his award:
Sean has this uncanny ability to stay calm. I've watched him choose to ignore mean behavior with stone-like ability. He inspires me to be more patient.


After the ceremony I took him out for ice cream. We saw another Terrific Kid recipient at the same Baskin Robins and the dad said to Sean, "Hey, you're the one that got the award for being patient, aren't you?"
Sean was very proud of his award. He also got a pencil and a badge. I'm proud of him, and glad he was chosen, but I'm still on the fence with the award stuff. I like the idea of pride from within instead of relying on outside praise.