Dad Mode vs. Coach Mode (Same Guy)

Ed’s daughter woke up sick with three assessments due that day.

She stayed home. Rested. Worried the whole time that there was no way to make any of it up without showing up before school once she was better, which felt like a punishment for having been sick in the first place.

Here's where I could've just called the school. I didn't.

Instead: "Email your teachers. Tell them what's going on. See what they say."

She hated that answer. Sent the emails anyway.

Turned out two teachers said take it in class when you're back. One said she could use study hall, an option she didn't even know existed until she asked. She made up all three. Then, in one class, she landed on a leaderboard she'd technically missed the day for.

None of that happens if I solve it for her.

That's the whole job of coaching a kid through flexibility: you don't remove the obstacle, you make the obstacle small enough that they can email their way through it.

TIP

Next time your kid hits a snag, resist the urge to send the email for them. Hand them two lines and make them hit send.

GROW

The flexibility isn't "I didn't panic." It's "I panicked, and then I still emailed the teacher."

DIVE

If your kid freezes at the first "I have to email an adult" moment, we've got a whole playbook. Reply and let's talk.