Are we pushing our kids to succeed… or unintentionally setting them up to feel like they are never enough?
In this episode of Mom Essentials, Angie Weber sits down with a pediatric expert, Dr. Joshua Stein, to unpack the growing pressure of perfectionism in today’s world and how it is impacting both children and parents.
From academics to athletics to everyday expectations, many kids are feeling the weight of needing to be the best, and when they cannot meet those standards, it often shows up as anxiety, frustration, shutdown, or complete burnout.
This conversation dives into what toxic perfectionism really looks like, how it is different from healthy motivation, and why focusing only on outcomes can actually hold kids back from growth. Angie and Dr. Stein also explore how perfectionism connects to emotional dysregulation, why some kids struggle to handle mistakes, and how parents can shift their approach to build resilience instead of pressure.
You will walk away with a better understanding of how to support your child through failure, how to model a healthier mindset at home, and how to create an environment where progress matters more than perfection.
If you have ever felt like your child is too hard on themselves, shuts down when things do not go right, or feels overwhelmed by expectations, this episode is for you.
Originally published with the Mom Essentials podcast.
About Dr. Stein
Dr. Stein is a child and adolescent psychiatrist at PrairieCare in Minnesota, where he serves as clinical director and attending clinician at the partial hospitalization and clinic levels of care. A past president of the Minnesota Society for Child Adolescent Psychiatry, he completed a General Psychiatry residency and Child Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at the University of Minnesota.