You are right, lovethesun. I think people are being too hard on you as the title of your thread shows that you are aware that you may be taking the awards-thing much too personally. When someone is showing that they are questioning their reaction, they shouldn't be jumped all over; their questioning should be encouraged and validated.

Is your daughter in middle school or high school? (I thought it was high school because I didn't know kids got awards in middle school--I've never heard of that and it certainly didn't happen in my day.) I responded to your first post the way I did because I thought it was high school and many parents are very concerned about their children being high achievers there because college and university admissions has become sooooooo competitive nowadays. It isn't necessarily selfishness to push high school kids to over-achieve these days--it's often simply strategy, and the tight job market today is one of the things shaping it.

I think you have made the right decision to go to the awards ceremony. And if your daughter is just in middle school, don't worry about awards as they will have no bearing on her future. Sounds like she's doing great and I am sure you are very proud of her. The fact that you feel she deserves more recognition than she is getting is proof of this.

--Ceara1010