The new year is here, and it is time to help our students learn how to fail - yes folks I said learn how to fail.  Failure is part of life - you don't get the job you wanted, or the girl, or you don't win the game you were depending on. 
     How do we learn to fail - simple, fail.  Give your child spelling dictations, or math quizzes, or or or.  The point is that when we fail, we learn that it is ok to fail, as long as we learn from the failure.  In the elementary school of Ontario, the belief is that to fail a child is damaging to their self esteem.  But please tell me what happens when they get to high school, where the teachers do fail the students, they have to otherwise they students do not have the necessary knowledge for the next course in that subject matter. This is when it is very hard on the individual, because they have had little experience of failing. 
     When your child does fail on a test, do the sandwich routine, point out when they did right, examine what when wrong, and then point out again what went right.  Concentrate on the fact that failing is not great, but that it is not the end of the world, and the important part is learning from it. Figure out how the individual can be more successful next time, create the plan and follow through.
    There is no great, or not so great leader that was successful with everything they have done.  Check into the creator of Second Cup.  He had gotten to the point of living on the street as an alcoholic. This would be the greatest level of failure.  He got himself organized pulled up his socks so to speak, started Second Cup as a small business, and now it is what it is.  He learned from his mistakes, and has become a success.
Help your child be successful, but teaching them how to fail and get back up