No matter how bad some parents feel, they often suppress their emotions in front of their children. Many of them have set a rule for themselves: "I never cry in front of the little ones!" This leads to them often gritting their teeth, tears only flowing in their own bedroom, and outbursts of anger taking place in the basement. Experts do not agree with this behavior: emotional expressions, especially negative ones, should not be hidden from children. Rather, it is important to deal with them correctly.
Do not shield children from everything
Creating a "perfect world" for children is a nice dream, but it does not only have a positive effect on them. Because the question arises: "How are the offspring supposed to learn to deal with their personal feelings?" It is easy for them to become insecure because our youngest ones notice that they often cry, but their parents never do. In the eyes of children, they don't even seem to know sadness. If emotional expressions are never seen in mother and father, our little ones can feel left alone with their emotions. Sometimes they even come to the conclusion that their own behavior, for example being angry or sad, is abnormal.
Letting feelings out
Showing feelings can even be helpful for both sides. Let's take the separation of parents as an example, which inevitably leads to heartbreak. Not only the partners are affected by the pain of separation, but also the children. If adults hide this from their offspring, this has two disadvantageous consequences:
- Mother and father cannot deal with the topic openly and talk about it, although it would be important for both them and the child
- our youngest ones do not dare to talk about their feeling of sadness or anger because they do not know that their parents feel the same way
The world of emotions should be explained
Even if scientists have confirmed through studies that the suppression of feelings in front of children is wrong, this should not be seen as a "free pass" for parents. The danger is great that they will take out negative emotions on their offspring without thinking. Such behavior does not help them or the mother and father. Rather, the child should be explained that there are very intense feelings and that one is allowed to let them out. In any case, this includes explaining to them how best to deal with them. It is also very important to make it clear to the offspring that one's own grief or anger has absolutely nothing to do with them.
