3 signs your child might

be a perfectionist
and how to help them:

@BigLifeJournal
 1
They procrastinate often.
They have difficulty getting started on a
task or they may procrastinate finishing it
because they are worried they won't be able
to do it perfectly.

Examples:
Putting off getting started on a
project for school
Avoiding practicing their instrument
or sport
Lack of willingness to try new things

@BigLifeJournal
 2
They are never done.
They may not want to stop doing the task
because they are afraid of disappointing
others or have unrealistic standards for
themselves.

Examples:
Redoing projects over and over
Getting frustrated and tearing apart
their progress
Refusing to stop practicing

@BigLifeJournal
 3
They overreact to mistakes.
They think mistakes mean they are simply
not good enough. Usually, they have an
extreme fear of failure.

Examples:
they may scream or completely shut
down
hide or destroy their work
compulsively erase it (sometimes so
hard that they make a hole in their
paper)

@BigLifeJournal
Ways to respond to your
perfectionist child:
"Instead of destroying your work, keep
it so that we can look back later and
see how far you have come."

"You have achieved so much! When you

started it was just a blank poster board
and now look at it!"

"I know you think that you can't do

anything right. Let's think of all the
things you already did right today...."

@BigLifeJournal
Phrases you can say to your
perfectionist child:
"I see how hard you are working."

"It looked like you had fun!"

"Practice makes progress."

"Every time you try, you get a little

better at that."

"It was brave to try something new."

"Nothing you do makes me love you

more or less."

@BigLifeJournal
We must not confuse
perfectionism with striving
for excellence.

Perfectionism is associated with

poor mental health and low self-
esteem. Striving for excellence is
linked to confidence and constant
growth.

@BigLifeJournal