We’re watching birds fly. They look so free and beautiful.

“Why can’t you fly, Kubla? You’d be so much better if you could fly.”

“I don’t have wings. Of course I can’t fly!”he protests.

“Not with that attitude!”It’s an old joke of ours.

He tries harder. Flaps his arms and jumps off the bench. “Two seconds!” I say. “Better than last time.”

The next day we’re in the playground. He asks for a challenge. “Backwards Monkey bars!” I say.

He tries doing the monkey bars backwards. He keeps falling off. “It’s too hard. I can’t do it.”

“Not with that attitude!”

He climbs back up and tries again. And again. And again. Another 20 minutes and he’s doing it—backwards monkey bars all the way across.

Believe you can or believe you can’t—most of the time you’re right.

What limits do your kids put on themselves? How do you help them see beyond their limits?

In two weeks I’ll give a free Kidorable Umbrella to whoever leaves my favorite comment.