‘Our intelligent daughter doesn't want to go to university – how do we persuade her?’
telegraph.co.uk– ExasperatedDisappointed is a big word, isn’t it? A big, heavy, oppressive thing to start flinging about. We are worried, Exasperated, that you might irrevocably damage the dynamic you have with your daughter if you continue in this vein. “Disappointed” is a joy killer and a relationship shriveller – you can tell that we feel strongly about this.
If you liberally sprinkle her with your disappointment, she will feel that she has let you down in a profound way; that she’s fallen short of your expectation.
And what are you meant to do with someone’s disappointment? It’s an emotional dead end for everybody.You are implying she has not fulfilled your hopes – but you also say that she is clever and studious and predicted three As, which means for 100 per cent of her life so far she has not “disappointed” you.
She has worked through Covid, through her teens, through global crisis upon crisis. The one time she wants to assert some autonomy, she disappoints you?What is your ambition for her?
Read more on telegraph.co.uk
