"Perfect is the enemy of good." This quote, often attributed to Voltaire, encapsulates a significant challenge faced by many parents today: raising children with perfectionistic tendencies. While striving for excellence can be laudable, an obsession with flawlessness can harm a child's mental health, productivity, and relationships.
Perfectionism in children is characterized by setting excessively high standards for themselves, coupled with a fear of making mistakes and a strong need for approval. Perfectionism can be classified into three types: self-oriented, socially prescribed, and other-oriented perfectionism. Self-oriented perfectionism involves imposing high standards on oneself, socially prescribed perfectionism stems from the belief that others expect perfection, and other-oriented perfectionism involves imposing unrealistic standards on others.
The origins of perfectionism are multifaceted,........