Carrie says: Last year my 12-year-old niece competed in a cross country ski race and won. I asked ” How was your race, how did you feel?”. Sadie replied “I am so proud of me”. The power of her words moved me completely, and spoke volumes about her self acknowledgment and her parents loving guidance.

Danielle says: I was trying to convince my four-year-old son to “have fun” at an amusement park. He wasn’t into the rides, he was a bit cranky. I took him aside and explained that his grandparents were really hoping he’d have a good time on this special occasion. I was really giving him the get-happy-dammit pressure. He got really frustrated and started to cry and he shouted at me, “Mama! My feelings are my choice!” What could I do but hug him and be incredibly humbled?

Sarah says: When my daughter was about seven, she started talking about the popular girls in her class. “Are you one?” I asked. “No,” she said. So after a while I told her – as gently as I could – that it didn’t really matter. “I know,” she replied. “Because they’re boring. All they want to do is be popular.” I loved how she seemed so much wiser than me at that moment because I had secretly been hoping she’d be popular, whereas she knew it was much more important to follow her own dreams.