I was honored to coach my son’s football team last season. Our team won every game except for the championship. I wish I could tell you that losing the big game was the most heartbreaking part of the season, but it wasn’t. The most heartbreaking part was hearing the words parents yelled at their sons from the sidelines.
I could hear a dad yell onto the field and I knew who his kid was by the way that kid dropped his head. I learned a lot this past football season about how parents destroy self-esteem. Here are 5 phrases that destroy confidence in our sons.
1.“What are you thinking?”
We have a rule in our house that the kids are not allowed to bring drinks upstairs because we’ve had too many spills. A couple of nights ago, I found my son trying to clean up a spill in his room. “What are you thinking” was on the tip of my tongue when I caught him. But instead of using it—instead of demeaning him—I got down on the floor, helped him clean up the spill, and simply asked if he misunderstood the rules.

Read the 5 things you may be saying that destroy confidence in your son.