Child Psychologist Says Shielding Children From Disappointment Can Weaken Resilience

A child psychologist's opinion column published by Fox News argues that rescuing children from disappointment can weaken the skills they need later, according to the outlet's summary of the piece. The Fox News opinion column is filed in the outlet's opinion section and is written from the perspective of a parent who says she could have spared her daughter disappointment but chose not to, as its headline indicates. The summary provided for this report carries no further information about the column's reception or its place in wider debates about child-rearing.

Fox News reported that the column holds that rescuing children from disappointment undermines self-efficacy, coping skills and long-term child resilience. The summary does not say which studies, clinical cases or observations, if any, the psychologist cites in support of that position.

Fox News identifies the writer in its summary only as a child psychologist, and the source record for the piece lists no author name. The summary reports no competing view from other experts.

Fox News's headline frames the column as a first-person account, and its summary presents the argument as the psychologist's own explanation of why such rescue matters for a child's development. The summary offers no further detail on how the argument applies to other households or to children of different ages.

Sources: Fox News: I could have rescued my daughter from disappointment. Here's why I didn't.