I have to share this because it’s been on my mind a lot lately. My 9 year old daughter out of nowhere is making comments that are so self aware it’s almost scary! Yesterday she said something like I think I get frustrated when things aren’t perfect because I’m afraid of failing 
How is she this in tune with herself at 9? I’m proud that she’s able to express her feelings so clearly but I wonder if this is because we’ve put too much pressure on her. How do I help her without adding to that pressure? Anyone else experience this level of emotional intelligence in their kids?
My daughter is 11 and says similar things! She once told me she feels like she has to be good at everything or she isn’t good enough. It’s amazing how kids are picking up on these complex feelings so early. I struggle with knowing when to step in and guide her versus letting her work through it on her own.
I can relate. My son has moments where he’ll say something super deep and im like are you really only 8?. I think kids are absorbing so much more than we realize, and it’s both beautiful and challenging. The hard part is balancing their self-awareness with making sure they don’t feel overwhelmed by it.
One thing that helped in our case was encouraging small positive affirmations. When my son starts to get hard on himself, I remind him that it’s okay to make mistakes and that perfection isn’t the goal. It’s about learning and growing. We’ve even started a family tradition of sharing one thing we’re proud of every night at dinner which has helped lighten that pressure. I’m still figuring it all out too but sometimes just having these little moments of reflection together makes a huge difference.