Even if you love your child, there are times when you can’t contain your frustrations. Children can be difficult to control and have regular mood swings. There are different ways to instill discipline, and no formula can tell you how to raise your child well. However, there are a few things you should avoid. Scolding your child is one of them. It’s even worse if your child has special needs since it’s counterproductive and won’t lead to good behavioral changes. Here are other reasons to avoid this strategy with a child with special needs.
It sends the wrong message
Your child with special needs might think that there’s no more love since it’s the opposite of anger. Not all children can recognize that your parenting technique only desires behavioral changes. It’s not about making your child feel unwanted. Children with special needs find it even more challenging to respond to screams and loud noise.
If you don’t know another strategy to deal with this problem, consider connecting with other parents through parentgood.app. You will also receive advice from experts on how to deal with children of special needs.
It ends in a screaming match
If you think your child with special needs will back down because you screamed, you’re wrong. Expect a louder voice, and an endless one back and forth. The worst part is your child might think it’s natural to talk to you that way. It leads to a disrespectful relationship, and you will feel humiliated if it happens in public.
It’s not a great way to address problems
Not all children are capable of expressing themselves well. Others have a hard time since they don’t know the right words. Instead of talking, they decide to throw tantrums. A child with special needs might not even learn how to talk until later in life. When they scream at you, they don’t intend to be disrespectful. They don’t know what else to do to express their frustrations. If you get angry, it’s threatening to them.
What you should do
There are alternatives to instill discipline considering the harm of scolding your child. Start by speaking with a calm voice. When you also shout, it doesn’t resolve anything. Instead of talking from afar, come closer to your child and have eye-to-eye contact. It makes you look more sincere.
Address the behavioral problem and ask the reason behind it. Then, you can deal with the issue without making it sound like a threat. If you want to use consequences, make sure the reason is clear. Your child should understand that it’s not because of hate. You’re doing it to resolve issues.
Make sure this problem doesn’t happen again. Create an environment where everyone can speak freely. Teach your child new words to express emotions. Otherwise, these feelings of frustration will manifest over and over again.
Some parents believe that scolding helps in disciplining children. The truth is they become more frustrated. They also resent your approach. It might lead to a long-term problem with your relationship, and you don’t want this to happen.
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