We mean well, but adolescents are sensitive and sometimes things come across wrong. Reframing how we talk to our kids takes practice, but give it a shot and see if you notice a difference.
It’s important to recognize your child's achievements, but if a task is easy then simple acknowledgment is better than saying how wonderfully it was done. Believe it or not, when we overdo it with praise, it makes our kids feel worse.
Your children look up to you. It may not always seem like it, but they take what you tell them to heart. Kids whose parents use guilt and shaming as a discipline strategy are more likely to become depressed.
And young people hate it when their parents talk in front of their friends about their bad qualities or things they need to do better about. Save those conversations for when it’s just you!
When parents compare young people to others it sometimes makes them feel like they’re not good enough.
When parents criticize or comment too much on their child's clothing it often makes them feel self-conscious and like their parents aren’t seeing them for who they really are.
