I Don’t Want a “Good Kid.” I Want an Emotionally Healthy One.

I don’t want a “good kid.” I don’t want a kid who’s quiet at restaurants. I don’t want a kid who never talks back. I don’t want a kid who “knows better” and proves it by swallowing their feelings with a tight smile. I want an emotionally healthy, resilient kid. And that sentence alone is enough to make some people uncomfortable. Because somewhere along the w…