Disappointment About Gifts Is Good for Kids Who Have Enough

Learning to navigate the feeling of disappointment is a critical ability for a child's growth

Both the Santa story and consumer culture promote the ideal of wish-fulfilment, but parents can model adaptability and a healthy understanding of limitations by supporting children through disappointment. Shutterstock

Disappointment is a natural human emotion that occurs after a perceived failure. For our young children, this perceived failure can look like not getting the toy they wanted, not being invited to a classmate’s birthday party or losing their favorite stuffed animal.

It is essential for children’s mental health, well-being and overall development that they experience how to deal with disappointment well. But this can be difficult for parents to handle, particularly around holidays that have grown to involve consumerism, gift-giving, and expectations.