Parents - Stop Yelling at Your Kids!

Hal Runkel is the author of the book Scream Free Parenting: Raising Your Kids By Keeping Your Cool. And he says when you need to get through to a rowdy kid, yelling is NOT the answer. It’s not effective, and it can actually damage the trust between you and your child – as well as their self-esteem. So, here are some quieter alternatives he offers, courtesy of Woman’s Day magazine.

• Calm yourself. If you’re seeing red, step away and think about what you should say, before you speak to your child. And when you do, speak coolly and slowly. When you yell, all kids hear is the yelling and they miss the message.
• Let the consequences do the talking. Runkel says you should give kids a choice. For example, they can either put their toys away now or lose them for a week. Make sure you follow through.
• Use the glare. Develop a look that your child knows is a signal that they need to STOP what they’re doing. But for this to work, you need to be loving and open with your kid the rest of the time. And you should only use the look when you’re angry, so they don’t get confused.
• Lower your voice. Rather than raising your voice, make it barely audible. Your child will be distracted from what they’re doing as they strain to hear you.

Wanna go further? The name of the book again is Scream Free Parenting: Raising Your Kids By Keeping Your Cool. It’s by Hal Runkel.