The Real Reason Kids Stop Speaking Up
The FIFA World Cup final is one week away.
While the biggest teams in the world prepare for MetLife Stadium, something happened last month on a much quieter pitch in Casablanca that we haven't been able to stop thinking about.
It has nothing to do with winning.
We're in week two of Self-Trust month, and this week we're looking at the part of self-trust that's easy to miss when things are going well. The part that gets tested when they're not.
Using your voice even when the score doesn't go your way.
Researcher Melanie Zimmer-Gembeck has spent her career studying how young people develop authentic expression. One of her most consistent findings: kids who feel genuinely accepted, not conditionally praised or managed into compliance, develop the courage to say what they actually think, and to keep showing up even after a hard day.
Nura Mohamed is 17 years old. She's never played in an organized league. This month, she captained her country's first women's international soccer match since the civil war.
Here's what happened.
STORY
She Showed Up Anyway
Photo Credit: The Associated Press
In June 2026, while the men's World Cup filled stadiums across North America, a group of teenage girls put on red jerseys in Casablanca, Morocco, and stepped onto a pitch for the first time as Sudan's national team.
Their country has been at war since 2023. The women's league collapsed. Some players had fled their homes. Many were separated from their families. They had only started training together weeks before. Their coach said it plainly after the first match, a 17-0 loss: they were mainly schoolgirls.
Thirty goals conceded across two matches. After the final whistle, many broke down in tears in front of a handful of cheering fans.
And then their 17-year-old captain, Nura Mohamed, spoke to a reporter.
"My goal is to lift up soccer in my country," she said. "It's a beautiful, unique feeling because, at the end of the day, I just love playing."
She didn't apologize for the score. She said what was actually true for her, standing in the wreckage of two heavy losses, with tears still on the faces of her teammates.
That's a girl who knows her own voice well enough to use it when it counts most.
They didn't qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics from this round. But they kept Sudan's place in the process, and the federation is already building toward the next cycle. Nura and her teammates will be back. This time, they'll have played before.
SKILL
The Authentic Statement
When your child has a hard day — a loss, a disappointment, a moment that didn't go the way they hoped — what do they usually say?
Most kids default to one of two things: they either perform okayness ("I'm fine, it doesn't matter") or they spiral into what went wrong. Both are ways of avoiding what's actually true for them.
Melanie Zimmer-Gembeck's research shows that kids develop their authentic voice through small, low-stakes practice. Not grand declarations. Just regular, quiet moments of saying what they actually think to someone who genuinely wants to hear it.
This week, try the Authentic Statement.
After something hard, sit with your child and ask one question: "What's the true thing you want to say about today?"
Not what they should feel. Not the silver lining. The true thing.
Then just listen. Don't fix it. Don't reframe it. Just let the true thing be said out loud.
That's the whole skill. A child who practices saying the true thing in safe moments will know how to say it when the moments are harder.
Nura Mohamed knew her true thing. It came out steady and clear, right after the hardest match of her life.
Before you go…
Week two of Self-Trust, and Nura Mohamed's words are staying with us. We hope they stay with you too.
Camp Supernova starts tomorrow! Tammy and Sylvia are already getting ready, and we cannot wait to spend the week with the kids who are joining us. If your family is registered, we'll see you there. If not, we'll fill you in on the kinds of products and services this cohort of kidpreneurs comes up with : )
This week we're sharing one of our favorite Kid President videos — short, fun, and completely on theme for a week about using your voice. Watch it with your kids to start their week with a smile:
Source: Soulpancake: For the Heroes: A Pep Talk From Kid President
Next week, we stay with Self-Trust and go deeper into something every kid needs: the ability to make a decision and own it without waiting for the room to agree first.
Your friends at REK,
Adam & Matthew Toren, Sylvia Tam, and Tammy Vallieres
Our new member hub is live — free activities, conversation starters, and resources for your family. Access it here.
“Voice is the capacity to articulate needs, feelings, and experiences authentically. It is the primary act of self-trust.”