David’s diary:

I am a failure!

I just saw my results today. My parents are disappointed. Everyone trusted me to pass the exams, my younger ones looked up to me, but I failed them all. There is  definitely no coming back for me on this. My friends will laugh at me, I hate myself for this. The exam was difficult, the tutor was too strict with his marks, they didn’t even allow most of us finish the exams. Now, I have failed. I just hate myself for this.

Parents,

Your child beats himself up so badly for failing. He also blames everybody else but himself for failing. This is a huge trap, you should never allow your child to fall into. 

As a parent, if your child fails, you need to show that child that you are still there for him/her, walk through that phase with your child, with a view to achieving success. Your child needs to understand that failure is not good, but that it has a lot of potential to bring out the best in him/her. Help your child to properly identify the failure; quit excuses and take full responsibility for the failure; identify and learn the lessons from the experience; let go of that failure; and create a definite plan for success in the future. This will help your child develop life skills that will be useful for a life time. 

Ife Adeoba