“Everyone Else Has One”: What Your Kid’s Envy Is Really Telling You

Hearing "It's not fair!" or "Everyone else has one"? 

Dr. Aliza Pressman and Dr. Stacy Kim on what envy is really telling your child and how to help them use it for good. 

If your child is envious of a sibling, a friend, or what they see online, you're not alone, and it doesn't mean you're raising an ungrateful kid. In this episode of Raising Good Humans, developmental psychologist Dr. Aliza Pressman talks with social scientist Dr. Stacy Kim, author of Envy: Why Wanting What They Have is the Key to Getting What You Want, about one of the most misunderstood emotions in childhood. Envy is often treated as something shameful to hide, but research shows it can be a powerful signal pointing kids toward what they truly care about. Together they explain the difference between jealousy vs. envy, why kids envy the people closest to them, and why shaming envy only keeps kids stuck. 

What you’ll learn:

- Why envy is a universal emotion, and what is behind it

- The difference between jealousy vs. envy, and why naming it correctly helps 

- Benign envy vs. malicious envy: how to steer kids toward the helpful kind 

- Why kids envy siblings and close friends more than celebrities 

- Finding the real feeling behind "Everyone else has one!" 

- How social media and constant comparison make envy harder for kids and teens 

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