Teach Your Child To Speak Up

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Many times we tell our kids to ignore the negative behavior of others.  How much can you ignore yourself?  If someone is mistreating you verbally or physically, you stand up for yourself, right?  Well, let’s teach your child to speak up against any negative behavior.

What do I mean by bad or negative behavior?  I am talking about ANY  action or word that makes them unhappy or uncomfortable.  

The other day I had the pleasure of meeting another mom after my daughter and I took her little dog for a stroll. We were chatting about how our families move every couple of years, and our children seem to be the new kid in schools often.  As we talked, the conversation turned to how you approach teaching your child to handle themselves on the playground and classrooms.  You already know, this was right up my alley to talk about.

Teach Your Child To Speak Up Immediately

The first words out of my mouth, “TEACH YOUR CHILD TO SPEAK UP!”  There are many different personalities that make this wonderful world go round, and everyone reacts to situations differently, but I don’t know many people that want to be mistreated.

By teaching your child to speak up immediately, they have verbally experienced themselves, and there’s no room for misunderstanding how they feel about the situation.

I personally do not teach our children to ignore any negative behavior toward them.  The first line of defense in our home is ALWAYS to speak up.   Does each of my kids take this approach?  No.

My Child Won’t Speak Up For Themselves

Remember three paragraphs up when I talked about different personalities make this world go round?  Well, this is true when it comes to self-defense as well.  Some people are either afraid to speak up or afraid of the possible consequence of speaking up. Others just want to find the ray of sunshine in everyone.    The later is totally me, but after a while, you have to know when to say enough is enough.  And this is why I find it important to teach your child to speak up at an early age.  

Growing up I was taught to ignore people with the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words may never hurt me.”  Well, words do hurt.  They cut just like the sticks and stones.

One of my kids will try ignoring situations, but as she is learning through her very own personal experiences (our job is to guide. Kids will still experience things we try to shelter them from), she needs to speak up sometimes. This is a learning process for all children, and that is perfectly fine.

What Can You Do As Parents To Teach Your Child To Speak Up

As mom and dad, we are to teach our children what is acceptable and how to handle situations.  It is also our job to listen to our children’s day at school, daycare, playground, etc.  If they seem upset or say something questionable, this is when you engage and ask a few questions to keep the conversation going.  DON’T press the issue; the goal is to keep them comfortable in talking to you.  You don’t want them to feel as though they are in trouble or you doubt them.

No one ever said parenting was easy and it most definitely isn’t easy when our children enter the age of socializing with other kids.  The exposure to what the real world has to offer, and it’s scary, but with a little bit of guidance, we can help them understand everyone isn’t always nice and that everyone has the right to be treated with love and to protect their feelings and themselves.

Remember: You are Your first line of defense of any negative actions in Your life.

This post was originally posted at Preschool2Teen on Jan 7, 2017.  I am happy to announce that Preschool2teen is merging with A Mom’s Blog under this new site.  

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