How The Words We Use To Describe Our Child Matter

The words we use to describe our children are more than just words.

They are the way we think of them.

The way we react to them.

The actions we take towards them.

Our Words Affect The Way We Help Our Children

When I realised how my words affect my children, it helped me overcome a lot of my anger issues to truly help my family.

It frames your mindset about your child.

When we use positive words, we are coming to a place of empathy as to why they are having a challenging time.

You respond more warmly. You listen better and react in more effective ways.

For example, when my child is having a meltdown…

“My child is a brat. Why is she giving me a difficult time?”

Vs.

“My child is having a difficult time. What can I do to help her?”

Two different ways of describing and responding to the situation.

If we have been describing our children negatively, it is time we redesign the labels we typically call them.

Negative labels only make our children feel lousy about themselves.

They cloud our parenting vision and hide qualities and potential the child may have.

So grab a pen and paper and…

Write down all the negative words you have used to describe your child.
Change the negative words into positive ones. {a Thesaurus can be helpful in this exercise.}
Regularly use these positive labels when talking about your child, even when disciplining them.

Here are some examples:

Your child is amazing; let’s reflect this in our words too.

How have you changed your child’s negative labels into positive ones?

Share it in the comments below.