What Do You Want For Your Kids?

[LoShiNi]

Find Out About The Pygmalion Effect And Why You Should Pay Attention To It


Our influence in our children’s lives is huge, to the point where we can ignore how important we are to them. We’re not only a big part of their education and upbringing, but also the formation of their values and even personality. And it’s not something we can take lightly. There is a thing called the Pygmalion effect and it’s fundamental to understanding how much we can influence our children.

In Greek mythology, Pygmalion was the King of Cyprus who fell in love with a statue that he made himself, to such an extent that he talked to it and treated it as if it were a real woman. His love was so much that the goddess Aphrodite gave life to the statue, called Galatea, and she and Pygmalion could finally be together.

This helps explains the psychological phenomenon. Our expectations and desires are so great that our children, one way or another, become another version of ourselves. Of course it isn’t that simple, because the Pygmalion effect can be positive and negative. It can put a lot of unnecessary pressure on our children.

It may be that we see our children as the most intelligent and skilled, and we subconsciously expect them to be. In this case, they can feel such pressure and anxiety that their self-esteem is terribly affected.

It’s important for us to know that it’s fine for us to want our children to be talented. But we can’t expect them to adapt to our expectations and become something that they aren’t, or that they don’t enjoy.

The important thing is to accept our children as they are, motivate them to be better without pressuring them, listen to them and understand what they want. We have a big influence on their lives, but the final decision isn’t ours to make. Our children shouldn’t be statues sculpted by our own wishes.