Beware of Labels
We often label kids—stubborn, loud, grumpy, rude, short attention span, disrespectful, mean, —as if these traits are inherent in them. People often say or think to ourselves, "He's so grumpy," after a cranky morning, "You're rude!" when they say something mean, or think "Why is she always so crazy?" "Why don't you ever listen?" As innocent as these thoughts and statements might seem, they are dangerous: We label the child, instead of the action. Calling or thinking of a child as "stubborn" reinforces the idea that they—as a person—are stubborn, when really, it's the behavior that was challenging. Even if you know they are not stubborn 24/7, labeling them as ....
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