Accepting criticism is an important life skill that entails listening to feedback, reflecting on it, and deciding how to respond. It plays a role in friendships, learning, and personal growth, as it influences how a person views their progress. Criticism can feel uncomfortable or discouraging at first, yet it holds the power to help someone grow.
The Accepting Criticism Worksheets include two complementary worksheets. The My Criticism Experience worksheet invites young people to draw or write about a situation where they were criticized, rate how they felt before, during, and after, and reflect on how they respond. The Accepting Criticism worksheet focuses on ways to improve how they handle criticism and helps them identify helpful or unhelpful feedback.
Completing these worksheets gives kids and teens the chance to understand their reactions, explore what criticism means to them, and build healthier ways of managing it. They can later revisit their notes as a reminder of their growth and as a guide for handling future feedback with more confidence.
Caring adults can offer calm, respectful feedback in everyday situations. They can further support young people by discussing past experiences together and reframing criticism as learning opportunities.
These worksheets pair nicely with our Accepting Feedback: Compliments and Criticism handout.
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References:
- Cutting, A. L., & Dunn, J. (2002). The cost of understanding other people: Social cognition predicts young children's sensitivity to criticism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43(7), 849-860. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.t01-1-00047
- Esdale, L., Jahoda, A., & Pert, C. (2015). Coping with criticism and praise. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 120(3), 258-268. https://doi.org/10.1352/1944-7558-120.3.258
