The Problem of Labeling Children

Labels can have a lifelong impact on children. During the formative years, a child is building his self-image by learning what he is good at and how others see him. A child will believe what his parents tell him, and he internalizes the messages his parents give him. Learning how to develop a child̵7;s self-esteem by using positive language can make the difference between a child with a good self-image and a child with a poor self-image.

  1. How Labels Hurt

    • Assigning a negative label to a child damages her because of the way children learn from the ages of 3 to 10, according to Dr. Neill Neill. A child in this age range accepts whatever her parents say without question, and she bases her view of the world entirely on the words and opinions of her parents. If her parent says something unkind or damaging to her, that child internalizes and accepts, as fact, what her parent says.

    Labeling in School

    • In school, a student cannot gain special education services without the school first assigning a label to her. The difficulties associated with this practice are many, not the least of which is that a label subjects the student to certain stereotypes associated with the label. Teachers may be less tolerant of a child's misbehavior when they know a student̵7;s label. The student may experience shame or guilt because of the learning disorder and because of the label.

    Labels That Define

    • A child may be diagnosed with a variety of behavioral or health disorders, and may not dissociate from those labels. A child with ADHD or asthma learns to live with these conditions and can cope with them, but sadly, he often learns to identify himself by these labels. According to the Kid Counselor, a child's parents and the child̵7;s extended family can help by focusing on the child's positive character traits and strengths instead of dwelling on the child's condition.

    Leaving Labels Behind

    • Some labels happen only because a child and his parent may have different personalities and the parent doesn̵7;t understand the child̵7;s personality, according to HealthyChildren.org. A child parents state has a "difficult" temperament may be very energetic compared to her laid-back parents. Parents can learn to choose positive words when describing their child's disposition. It is the responsibility of the adult to modify his parenting style to suit the child's personality, while helping the child understand which behaviors are socially and publicly acceptable.

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