“What’s wrong with you, can’t you do anything right?” “You’re driving me crazy.” “That was a stupid thing to do!”
For just a moment, shrink yourself back to child size and imagine you’ve just heard those words. How would you feel? Hurt, humiliated, angry…or maybe resentful?
In your daily struggles to get your kids to stop misbehaving, it’s so tempting to use any method that works. Yelling, criticizing and threatening may get compliance, but at what cost? Any favorable results may be only temporary…and can lead to bigger problems.
Your words have a powerful impact on your kids. Anytime you make a child feel shamed or belittled, you ultimately make your work much harder. Kids can easily become angry, resentful and defiant.
One of the secrets to getting your kids to listen is to treat your kids the way you would want to be treated…even when you’re dealing with misbehavior. Kids who are treated with kindness and respect will feel good about themselves. And they are more likely to be respectful and considerate of others, too…including YOU!
Just for this week, make a conscious effort to pay close attention to the words that you are saying to your kids. If you were a little (or big) kid, how would you feel hearing those words?
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