Camilla McGill explains why shaming kids for misbehavior backfires and damages them emotionally. She offers empathy-based alternatives that actually teach right from wrong, drawing on psychology and parents' own experiences of being shamed as children.
Our child has done something we're really upset about. They've pushed the food away that we've just put down in front of them. They've called us stupid, or they snatched a toy away from their friend and refused to give it back. Surely we need to tell them off, scold them, use some shaming tactics. 'You're rude, selfish little boy.' How else will they learn the difference between right and wrong? Well, if you're a parent who remembers the sting of being shamed, and if you're worried about the effects of punishment and want to raise your child in a different way, then you're definitely going to want to listen on to today's episode: Why scolding, shaming, or punishment fails to improve behavior.
