What To Do If Someone Scolds Your Child

It’s natural for you to reprimand your child when they do something wrong. Scolding your kids is a part of correcting their negative behavior and encouraging them to follow the right path. However, when someone else scolds your child, it makes you furious. They might be scolding your kid because they made a blunder, but it gets you fuming. You might even want to snap and tell them to back off, which is entirely natural. After all, who wouldn’t turn on their protective mama bear mode when they see their child is being scolded? While it’s natural to react impulsively, it’s important to stay level-headed and deal with the situation in a calm, composed, and mature manner. So, here are a few things you can do if you see someone scolding your child:

In This Article

Assert Your Presence

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When you see that an adult is scolding your kid, make your presence known. When you assert yourself, it changes the dynamic of the conversation. Your child feels protected and safe. Plus, the opposing adult will probably be more respectful of how they address your child. You could assert yourself by mimicking their body language. It helps establish that you are the final authority figure and also helps resolve the conflict better.

Assess Before Reacting

What To Do If Someone Scolds Your Child
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It’s natural to want to snap at someone who is scolding your child. But before you lose your cool, take a few minutes to assess the situation. Your kid could be wrong — they would have probably hit another kid, broke someone’s toy, or misbehaved with someone. Therefore, don’t let anger take over and lash out at the other person. Instead, address the situation logically and gather all the information about the whole ordeal.

Talk To Your Child So They Feel Understood

What To Do If Someone Scolds Your Child
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Your child might feel threatened and frightened when someone is scolding them. In such a situation, it might be helpful to talk to your child to understand their side of the story. Go down to their eye level and ask them what’s wrong. Validate their emotions and pay attention to them without judgment. If your child feels understood, they are more likely to know where they went wrong and reconsider their negative behavior.

Be Straightforward With Them

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You might be worried about coming across as rude or uncaring but being direct with someone is the best way to tackle such situations. Beating around the bush often causes more harm than good. Therefore, politely but firmly let them know that disciplining your child is your responsibility. Tell them that it would be best if they don’t interfere when it comes to reprimanding your child, and hopefully, they understand. If they seem offended, present a scenario where the roles are reserved and ask them if they would be cool with it if you scolded their kid. That might help them comprehend your point.

Bank On Humor

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While humor is a great tool to diffuse a tense situation, it cannot be used in all cases. Sometimes, it can worsen, so ensure you read the room and understand the situation before banking on humor. However, you may rely on some lighthearted humor if the situation is not too tense. For example, if your child broke another kid’s toy, you could say that it’s the fifth car he’s breaking today and add a bit of a humorous element to it. You could probably say that soon you’ll have to start a garage to repair all the damaged cars.

Set Boundaries

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When an authority figure in your child’s life scolds them, you can establish some ground rules with them. Adopt similar disciplining rules, so your kid understands what’s wrong. For example, you could take away their favorite toy or cancel television time when your kid makes a mistake. Tell the authority figure (teacher, coach, relative, grandparent) to do the same.

Explain To Your Kid

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Most of the time, kids understand that they’ve made a mistake. If they don’t, calmly explain why what they did was wrong instead of simply scolding them. When your child understands their mistake, they are more likely to correct their behavior and not resort to rebelling and throwing tantrums. Comfort your child but refrain from pitying them. You could present a similar situation to them to help them understand. Ask them how they would feel if someone did the same to them and let them figure it out.

Correcting your kids and teaching them right from wrong is a part of parenting. Similarly, if your kids misbehave in school, their teacher has the right to correct them or even scold them. However, it has to be done in the right way, so your kids learn to behave. Resorting to yelling and anger might make things worse. You might even cause your kids to develop low self-esteem, anxiety, and trust issues. Therefore, handle these delicate situations tastefully. How do you deal with someone scolding your child? Let us know in the comments below!

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