Disappointment is heavy, even when the thing itself seems small.
The size of the feeling isn’t about how big the event was.
It’s about how much you were looking forward to it.
The feeling deserves space before it needs solving.
For children:
When disappointment arrives, try:
Let yourself feel it: You don’t have to pretend you’re fine when you’re not.
Notice both things can be true: You can be sad it didn’t happen and still find something good later.
Give it time: Disappointment needs a little while before it gets smaller. That’s normal.
For grown-ups:
This week, try:
Validating the size of the feeling, not the size of the event. A small thing to you might be genuinely big to your child.
Resisting the urge to fix it instantly. Let “this is hard” come before “here’s what we’ll do instead.”
Allowing both things to be true. A new plan can exist alongside the original disappointment.
Sitting with them, rather than talking them out of it. Presence often helps more than words.
🌱 A grounding moment — try this together
Sit somewhere comfortable.
Think of something that disappointed you recently; large or small.
Say quietly: “I was really looking forward to that. It’s okay that I’m disappointed.”
Let it be true, just for a moment.
Then take one slow breath, and let it settle a little. 🫶
