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#FreshTake: Things we don’t want to hear from parents – part two

Don't make your children feel useless by being too hard on them when they do something wrong

Please, just shut up
When parents are really busy or trying to concentrate on something, they can get rather blunt with children and even go as far as telling them to “shut up”. This could give the impression that you find them irritating or have no time to deal with them.

Be a man/girls don’t do that
Stop telling your children that boys can do this and girls can do that. Cooking and cleaning is not just for girls, the same way that soccer is not just for boys. Allow your children to do and try things regardless of their gender. Parents should also not tell boys who are emotional to man up or be a man.

I am so ashamed of you
This is one way to make any child feel bad about themself. When expressing disappointment, some parents can go overboard. Instead of making your child feel like they have dishonoured the family, have a heart-to-heart with them about why this has disappointed you.
Give them the opportunity to also express their feelings.

Why can’t you do anything properly?
Don’t make your children feel useless by being too hard on them when they do something wrong. Not only will you prevent them from learning how to do it right, but they could also decide not to try anything new, fearing that they don’t do it right and disappoint you again.

At Caxton, every story is written by humans. We use AI only to perform quality checks - never to generate the news. Happy reading!

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Sihle Ntenjwa

A journalist at Caxton Local Media, contributing to Estcourt and Midlands News. Passionate and dedicated to his craft, Sihle has quickly made a name for himself since arriving in Estcourt in late 2023. His commitment to storytelling and community journalism has earned him recognition for keeping readers informed with compelling and accurate local news

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