I have a bit of imposter syndrome. Okay, maybe more than a bit.

Which is strange when I look at it objectively. I’ve done things I’m proud of. I’ve built a career, moved countries, taken risks, figured things out when I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.

Still, give me a new challenge and there’s a decent chance part of my brain will say, Are we sure you’re qualified for this?

Lately I’ve been wondering where that comes from.

Growing up, doing well was just… expected. I don’t remember accomplishments being celebrated very much. You did well, great. Now onto the next thing.

I knew my family was proud of me. But knowing something and actually hearing it are not always the same thing.

And now that I’m raising a child, I think about that a lot.

Because I don’t want to raise a kid who needs applause for putting his socks on. 😄 I don’t think constant praise is the answer either.

But I do want him to know when I notice something.

Especially the things nobody gives awards for.

When something is hard for him and he keeps going. When he does something he was nervous to do. When he’s genuinely kind. When he helps someone. When he handles something differently than he would have a year ago.

Those are big things too.

We’re pretty good at noticing what needs work

As parents, we notice everything.

You forgot your backpack.

Please put your shoes away.

You need to slow down.

Try that again.

Were you listening?

And obviously, that’s part of parenting. Kids need guidance. There are things they need to learn and things we have to correct approximately 4,000 times before they stick. 😄

But I started wondering whether I am as intentional about pointing out the other stuff.

Not just “good job,” which honestly comes out of my mouth so automatically sometimes that I’m not even sure either of us registers it.

I mean actually telling him what I noticed.

I know that was frustrating for you, but you didn’t give up.

You were nervous about doing that and you did it anyway.

I saw you helping.

You handled that so much better this time.

There is a difference.

One says, I approve.

The other says, I see you growing.

And I think kids need some of that.

So I started thinking about certificates

I already had four Positivity Superstar certificates that I made to go with our 20-Day Positivity Challenge.

At first, they were really just a fun way to celebrate finishing the challenge.

But while I was working on them, I kept thinking about all the other things I would actually want to recognize.

Why do certificates usually come after a child finishes something?

What if sometimes the thing worth celebrating is that they didn’t quit?

Or they made a brave choice?

Or helped someone?

Or started noticing the good things around them?

That’s when four certificates turned into nine.

I added a Kindness Superstar, Gratitude Superstar, Never Give Up Award, Brave Choices Award and Helping Hand Award.

And suddenly I liked the idea much more.

They weren’t really achievement certificates anymore. At least not in the traditional sense.

They became little ways of saying:

I noticed.

I don’t want to reward everything either

This was important to me when I was making them.

I don’t want kindness to become something my child does because there might be a certificate afterward. I don’t want every difficult homework assignment to end with a prize. And I definitely don’t want him asking, “What do I get?” every time he does something he’s supposed to do.

That defeats the whole point.

I think there’s a difference between rewarding a behavior so a child will repeat it and recognizing something meaningful after it happens.

For me, these are much more about the second one.

Most of the time, words are enough.

Sometimes a hug is enough.

And sometimes I think it’s fun to make a little more of a moment.

Print the certificate. Write their name on it. Put it on the refrigerator. Let them be ridiculously proud of it for a few days.

Not every Tuesday. Just sometimes.

What are we teaching them to notice about themselves?

I think this is the part that matters most to me.

When we only celebrate the obvious accomplishments—grades, winning, finishing, being the best—we’re showing kids one definition of success.

But there are so many things happening underneath those results.

Persistence.

Courage.

Kindness.

Learning to manage frustration.

Trying something when you’re not sure you’ll be good at it.

Helping another person without getting anything in return.

Those are qualities I care about just as much, if not more.

And maybe recognition is partly about helping kids build the language for those things.

Instead of only thinking:

I got an A.

Maybe they also start thinking:

That was really hard for me and I kept going.

I was scared and I tried anyway.

I made someone feel included.

I’m getting better at this.

That’s a very different kind of confidence.

And maybe that’s part of what I’ve been missing when I think about my own imposter feelings too. Accomplishments on paper don’t automatically turn into a feeling of I am capable. Somewhere along the way, we have to learn to recognize our own effort, progress and strengths too.

I can’t know exactly what creates that in a child.

Parenting would be much easier if we could. 😄

But I can make sure the things that matter don’t always pass by unnoticed.

That’s really the reason I made these certificates.

They’re colorful pieces of paper. They’re not going to build a child’s confidence by themselves.

But they can create a moment.

A moment to stop instead of immediately moving on to the next thing.

A moment to say, “Hey. I saw what you did there.”

And maybe we should make a bigger deal out of those moments sometimes.

If You Want to Use Them Too

I originally made these for my own little collection of tools I use with my son, but I decided to add them to my Etsy shop too in case another parent, teacher, or caregiver wants to use them.

There are 9 different certificates, including kindness, gratitude, bravery, perseverance and helping others. They’re editable in Canva, so you can personalize them with a child’s name or change things around if you want to.

You can find them here: [Kids Achievement Certificates – Play. Connect. Repeat. Etsy Shop]

And if you use one, I’d genuinely love to know what your child earned it for. I think those stories are probably more interesting than the certificates themselves. 😊