Know About the Negative Effects of Aggressive Parents on Children

Parents are the ultimate role models for children. Every word, movement and action has an effect. No other person or outside force has a greater influence on a child than the parent.Bob Keeshan

Many parents are blind to their own deficits, and using aggression as a form of parenting is a major one. Some parents use it as their last resort, and some as their first instinct, but it is supposed to be none. Being aggressive is a short-term solution with long-term effects.

Being a parent is one of the toughest and riskiest jobs in the world, yet there are no training sessions or school for it. People just go with their instincts, not realizing what is negative and harmful, and what is positive and peaceful. Let’s learn more about why aggressive parenting is not good and what should you do to avoid it with Podium’s latest parenting guide.

What Do We Mean By Aggressive Parents

Being an aggressive person means reacting in a hostile manner to any situation. It can include speaking harshly, yelling, throwing objects, and even physically hurting someone. Aggression is not limited to just these acts. It also encompasses passive-aggressive behaviour and taunts. Constantly criticizing, insulting, and blatantly dismissing someone’s views and opinions is also a part of it.

No one imagines being a parent who is hurtful or hateful towards their child but it happens.

A parent might be frustrated, stressed, or angry over something else but take it out on their children. Or they themselves might be victims of unstable parenting and hence don’t know the right way to discipline their kids.  

People often use aggressive parenting as a technique to control their kids. Excessive punishments such as smacking, and denial of food are some of the hurtful deeds parents often do, but are now very much normalized. This doesn’t result in well-behaved children, instead, it gives rise to children who fear their own parents. 

The Negative Effects of Aggressive Parents

As we know, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If one is being aggressive and hostile, there will be consequences to it. Here are some of the major repercussions of being aggressive parents.

Leads to Trauma and Psychological Issues

When children are exposed to violent tendencies, it increases the risk of psychological and mental problems. It starts with a minor fear and stress received from the parents’ aggressive behaviour, but it further leads to anxiety disorders, that too at a very young age. 

Even the lightest smack to the strongest reprimand could leave a traumatic impact on the developing minds of young children. We consider them as mental, emotional, or physical abuse. A week of medicine cannot treat these issues. These are long-lasting problems that the children often carry into adulthood. 

Mistrust of Parents

Responding to a situation in a hostile manner results in losing trust in parents. Say your child committed a trivial fault but your reaction to it was yelling and maybe a slap. They will have created a fear of you and would not inform you of any other mistakes, be it small or big. 

Trust is built, not demanded. But trusting in parents is a default that we observe from our childhood. In some children, even the slightest slip-up can result in a breach of trust. It leads to a lack of confidence in them. So you must choose your actions carefully. 

Alters the Personality of Children

Trust is built, not demanded. But trusting in parents is a default that we observe from our childhood. In some children, even the slightest slip-up can result in a breach of trust. It leads to a lack of confidence in them. So you must choose your actions carefully. 

Being strongly yelled at for even the slightest cause like voicing your opinion, hanging out with your friends a little late, not scoring an A+ can lead to inept social skills. Some children even develop violent tendencies in themselves further leading to anger issues and related disorders. They can also become either too sensitive or too harsh to foreign circumstances. 

Indulgence in Harmful Activities

Not being able to find comfort and solace from the parents, instead of receiving more stress from them, has to have its side effects. Getting involved in harmful activities such as physically fighting, smoking, drugs, etc, is often used as an outlet for living in an unstable environment.  

Peer pressure is a constant factor in society. So when a child detaches from their family, he will automatically turn towards his friends. And eventually, give in to the peer pressure of divulging into bad habits. It is mainly the lack of adult supervision that deviates the child from healthy habits to such patterns.

Become Mirror Reflection of Their Parents

Home is the first school and parents are the first teachers. The way parents act and react in situations teaches the children how to do the same. The way they communicate, their actions, and even expressions are carbon copies of how their parents behave. 

So when parents are themselves hostile and forceful, you can see their children acting in the same way. They use aggression even when it is not required. They often choose less peaceful ways to handle situations, hence the calls from school principals and neighbours for hurting other kids. 

Conclusive Thoughts

In a nutshell, one of the worst things that you could do to a child is use aggression as a form of parenting. Childhood is the foundation of a person’s life and parents are the ones laying that foundation stone. Every child is at risk of suffering in a world full of flawed adults. 

Parenting that is warm, delicate, and supportive provides the greatest chance of a child having apt development. It is the quality of the relationship between parents and their kids that matters. 

The current lack of parenting education leads to unsafe childhood. We need to enlighten parents on how to peacefully communicate and discipline their children. A safe and secure childhood begins with educated parents. 

Podium School is the right place where we offer great tips and advice required for brushing yourself up on good and positive parenting practices. Check out these articles on our blog to enhance the personality development of children. And for all the guardians out there, here are some tips and advice to up your ante in the parenting game.

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