One of the worst things about being a parent is watching my kid(s) struggle for the lack of skills I can’t teach them. This week my daughter has been training to be a counselor at a girls’ camp. She did fine with the younger girls until she was paired with another counselor-in-training who is more assertive and has been leading the activities without, apparently, referring to my daughter.
I have never known how to handle assertive/aggressive people and generally respond by ceding the game and walking off the field. I’ve known, of course, about the inherent crappiness of this technique forever, but I’ve never been as acutely aware of the amount of damage it does to the self as I have this week. Sigh.
NB: I know that there are a range of possible responses to my daughter’s situation, and I have discussed several ideas with her. But I still feel like a failure.
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