It took me by surprise.
My daughter was in first grade at the time. She had just started to read books longer than simple sight word readers.
As she struggled through a particularly difficult part, her eyes filled with tears and she threw the book down.
“I CAN’T DO IT! I’M NEVER GOING TO READ!”
She ran to the couch and buried her head in the cushions,
“Sweetie! It’s OK”
“NO! I’m just not good at it. I can’t do it. I’m stupid.”
Oh, you know how that makes your heart sink as a parent.
And she refused to try. I asked her to look at it again and she wouldn’t.