When Your Child Says, "I Hate You!"
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Let’s talk about what to do and not to do when you hear your child yell something awful like this at you or at a friend/sibling.
Resist the urge to punish. You cannot teach through punishment. This will only cause more anger and insecurity, which is not your desired outcome.
Come up with a solution that supports your desire to have a child who expresses themself appropriately AND your child’s desire to express how they feel.
Practice often. Talk about angry feelings often.
Give solutions and opportunity to practice them. You can reenact situations where one stuffed animal grabs from another and play out different scenarios when things are CALM.
Children’s books are a fantastic way to engage your child in conversation about big feelings and behavior. If your child has a hard time talking about what happened, use books as a way to bring it up.