How Parental Negativity Can Affect Children

Whether you're having a bad day or a bad year, it's easy to bring your frustrations and worries into the home. However, a negative attitude can have a long-term effect on your children and cloud how they view the world as well. A pessimistic, depressed or negative attitude does more than express your feelings; it also sets an example for your children. Understand how your attitude shapes your children's lives.

  1. Setting the Wrong Example

    • As a parent, you lead by example. Your children, especially when they are young, model their behavior after you. As Karen Stephens, director of the Illinois State University Child Care Center and a child development instructor, explains, children often grow up to be like their parents. Modeling negative behavior, then, can result in a similar negative attitude in your children. Your negativity might lead to pessimistic attitudes in your children for the long term.

    Damaging Their Self-Esteem

    • When negativity is directed at your children, your criticism and pessimism can damage their self-esteem. If, for example, your negativity spills over into your children's lives, you might criticize their grades in the classroom or performance on the soccer field. Signs of low self-esteem might develop. Your child might stop trying or want to quit an activity, withdraw socially or experience mood swings, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics' HealthyChildren.org.

    Increasing Stress

    • A household full of negativity can lead to a variety of negative emotions in your family. Your emotions might include those of self-criticism, sadness, loneliness, fear or rejection. TeensHealth explains that these negative emotions can create a stressful environment. Your heightened stress levels, associated with your negativity, can spill over into the family dynamic, with stress becoming a pervasive factor in your day-to-day family life. A household that is on edge and always stressed likely isn't filled with joy and laughter as well.

    Weak Communication

    • When your children expect a negative response from you, they might not make the effort to open up. HealthyChildren.org explains that a parent who communicates effectively with her children is a good listener and shows empathy. When you respond negatively to your children's issues, you fail to serve as the sounding board they need to resolve problems. As a result, this negativity can hinder family communication for the long term, and your children might look for a supportive ear elsewhere.

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