Parenting is a lifelong commitment. By bringing a child into this world, you automatically make them your full-time responsibility, and you’re obliged to give them a healthy and loving environment. It’s not a secret that folks from older generations have a completely different view on the way one’s upbringing should be done – however, nowadays, people are very open about their emotional traumas, making parents reconsider the raising methods they use on their offspring.
Gentle parenting was introduced a while ago and is based on four main factors – empathy, respect, understanding and boundaries. It’s a way to ensure that your children are not lacking in emotional connections and are growing up in wholesome environments. Many are mistaken and think that just because the technique has the word “gentle” in it, discipline doesn’t exist, though it very much does – however, it’s focused on teaching various valuable life lessons rather than focusing on punishments.
This TikToker and parenting coach shared a video helping parents to accurately handle their children’s emotional outbursts. The technique covers aspects of gentle parenting and ensures that your child feels loved, valued and protected.
More info: TikTok
Parenting is hard, but this woman has a great number of helpful tips
Image credits: Jax Anderson , LPC
There are no ultimate instructions for raising your kid correctly, though – it’s important to always validate your offspring’s feelings, regardless of their age. Humans long for connections and it’s extremely easy to harm their emotional health, leaving the child scarred for life.
A TikTok video with over 814K views reveals how a parent should help their offspring in moments of emotional distress
Image credits: psyko_therapy
Emotional tantrums are equally stressful for parents and their kids. Just imagine how your child feels going through all these crazy changes in a very small amount of time. Of course they’re going to struggle with their feelings, and by validating your child’s emotions, you’re making them feel important and safe. If your child doesn’t feel heard, they’ll do whatever it takes for you to notice.
Image credits: psyko_therapy
The woman begins with an example of how some parents would handle their children’s emotional outbursts, or in this case – just crying. When you don’t know why your little one (or not so little one) is struggling mentally, telling them that they’re fine and that there’s nothing to cry about is, in fact, a very unhelpful response.
Image credits: psyko_therapy
That kind of response conveys to your child that they’re not taken seriously and that there is something wrong with them. Children begin to think that their emotions are not reasonable, which later could terribly impact their mental well-being.
It could be hard for parents to understand their child’s outbursts, but it helps to remember that by validating their feelings, you’re not saying that you allow/agree with this behavior, you’re only showing that you’re actually listening and trying to understand their thoughts.
Image credits: psyko_therapy
So, in reality, what you should really do is reassure them that it’s absolutely normal to feel frustrated and that crying and letting your feelings out is okay, as you will be there to talk everything out as soon as they’re ready. Again, it’s crucial not to show any kind of judgement and just acknowledge their feelings. It’s not easy and sometimes takes a lot of practice – however, it’s all worth it in the end.
Image credits: psyko_therapy
After all, being understood is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, whether you’re a toddler or not. When someone close to us accepts and feels our struggles, it supports and improves our self-compassion, as well as teaches little ones to be empathetic with others. Scolding someone for their feelings and emotions is a horrible thing to do, so why not focus on bringing your child up in a kind and considerate environment?
You can watch the video here:
Fellow followers appreciated the advice and even shared their own stories
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