A few Saturdays ago found me on the touchline of a local football pitch where one of my sons was playing his first match since joining the club. Next to me was one of the dads and we found ourselves in conversation, commenting on how pleased we were to have this activity to bring our boys to each week and how much better it was than playing on the Wii! ‘We really held out against the Wii,’ said my new friend, ‘but our son wanted one so badly and when his birthday came round he said to us, “what’s the point of birthdays if you don’t get what you want?” So we bought him one.’

In this article Lindsay Melluish considers whether disappointment is always a bad thing. Subscribe to Families First to read the full article.