Awards Time: Dealing with a Child Who Hasn't Won an Award

It is the last week of school, which also means awards time.

#2 came home flustered and in tears because a classmate had got an award for doing well.

"The rest of us did well too, but we didn't get an award. It's NOT FAIR."

Without knowing what the award was for, it was difficult to know how to respond.

So I proceeded cautiously.

Perhaps the award was an encouragement for having to work harder than others to get to the same level of achievement?

#2 did not know, and the idea did not move her.

So I tried another tack.

Not everyone gets an award all the time, I began.

That didn't work either.

Eventually, the solution came from #2 herself.

"I think my fault is Pride," she reflected. "I get jealous when other people do well - I find it hard to be happy for them."

I was stunned by her revelation. It reminded of Jo March in Little Women and how she confessed to her mum that she couldn't control her temper and tongue no matter how hard she tried.

For a 7 yo to be this self-aware, I believe it means God is speaking to her in some way. This is a work of the Holy Spirit, not of man.

I followed her lead and added, "We all have faults, but God can help us with them if we ask Him."

She was apparently satisfied, because she nodded and went back to reading aloud a passage from the book she had been reading.

The incident got me thinking: how do I respond to the whole awards issue?
Do I say "it doesn't matter" in public, but privately feel affronted if my child misses out on being acknowledged when I feel they have done outstandingly?
Is this really about a search for significance?
Is it about me or about them?

So many questions, so few answers.