FollowWhat to Do When Your Child Says They Hate You
As parents we make many sacrifices for our child. Even before they come into this world, we deal with morning sickness, weight gain and backaches. When your baby arrives, you are up all night with them crying and you take time from work when they are sick. Yet it seems that your child has the nerve to tell you they hate you. Parents are surprised and shocked when this happens. Learn what to do when your child says they hate you by reading more of this article.
Refrain from saying anything hurtful back-Your first reaction might be to say you hate them back or you wish you never had them. This behavior doesn’t teach your child anything good about how to solve conflicts. Basically it teaches them that the way to handle verbal conflicts is to strike back with a verbal counterattack. As the saying goes, two wrongs don’t make a right.
Refrain from yelling and screaming- Yelling and screaming as a response to what your child has said shows them that you are not emotionally in control of the situation. It also indicates to your child that you are giving them all the power.
Refrain from telling them they can’t talk to you like that- Don’t tell them that they have no right to talk to you like that because the truth is that they can. You have absolutely no control over what comes out of their mouth. When you tell them that they can’t do something, they will start a power struggle with you.
Try and remain calm- When your child tells you they hate you, take a step back, take a deep breath and briefly think about what your response will be. Think about not only what you will say to them but also how you will say it.
Be aware of your non-verbal communication- Non-verbal communication can have a great impact on how your response is interpreted by your child. This form of communication includes facial expression and body language. You don’t want to roll your eyes, put your hands on your hips or cross your arms when responding. Your facial expressions should be as neutral as possible.
Keep your responses short and sweet- Be sure that you keep your responses direct and short. Say something like “I am sorry you feel that way, but you still need to get your homework done”. You need to be assertive but not aggressive so your child sees that their statement will not solve their issue.
