How would you feel if you were threatened or shouted at for making a small mistake or two? What would your reaction be? Ashamed? Unloved? Humiliated? Won’t you feel constantly fearful of being reprimanded if you make another mistake?

Now just apply the same scenario to your kids and think about them. How do you think they would feel if you use harsh and unpleasant words while talking with them? Not many are aware but using aggressive language like curse words, harsh words, harmful words, negative labels, and put-downs is what is referred to as verbal abuse.

Verbal abuse is one of the most frequent and often neglected kinds of child abuse. Most of the time, it is justified as “discipline” or “tough love.” However, this illogical viewpoint can have disastrous effects on children. The wounds created by verbal abuse in childhood can have long-term consequences for a child’s life. So, in today’s blog, we, at Chanderbala Modi Academy, one of the best schools in Bharuch, will shed light on how harmful can verbal abuse be for children and how parents can avoid falling for verbally abusing their children even when their patience is being tested by the kids.

• It affects the developing brain

The environment in which a child grows influences how his brain develops. When the environment remains secure, caring, and supportive, the child develops emotional stability. However, a kid who grows up in a hostile, unsupportive, or abusive environment, suffers stress and low self-esteem, which has a negative impact on brain development.

Research reveals that childhood stress caused by verbal abuse ends up lowering the number of neurons in the hippocampus, the brain area responsible for emotional control. This shows that the damage done to a child’s brain by verbal abuse changes the brain’s structure.

• Leads to instilling an inferiority complex in the young minds

When a child is continually screamed at, he begins to believe that “there must be something wrong with me.” He begins to acquire an inferiority complex and believes his pals are superior to him. This ends up lowering the kid’s confidence and self-esteem and instills a feeling of self-doubt in the child.

• Increases the likelihood of substance abuse

A child who has been verbally abused for an extended time internalizes the criticisms and judgments and carries the agony of the abuse into adulthood. In the absence of supporting adults in an abusive environment, the child seeks to alleviate his emotional agony on his own and through the easiest way he finds. As a result, there remain higher chances of the child getting predisposed to substance abuse, anti-social conduct, and may even develop serious mental diseases.

• Develop antisocial tendencies

The worst consequence of verbal abuse is that abused children frequently grow up to be damaged adults and battered parents. In various criminal studies, it has been found that most offenders had faced physical and verbal abuse during their childhood years.

We hope by now you have understood why abusing children is such a big deal and why it should be avoided at any cost. So here, we have a few pointers to assist you in quitting being abusive verbally:

• Consider your own experiences

Consider why you could be employing verbal abuse and how it might be based on some of your past experiences. How have the people and situations around you affected or impacted you? You may begin to understand why you are verbally aggressive.

• Stop the vicious cycle

Whatever your childhood experiences were, you now have the opportunity to end the pattern of verbal abuse. Knowing the negative consequences it has on you and your kid, you can assist yourself or seek expert treatment. After all, you have the right to recover from whatever verbal abuse you may have experienced in your past!

• Learn to converse with respect

Anger is a natural reaction in some situations. However, if you want to address those circumstances, take as much time as you need to calm yourself and let the anger subside. A tranquil mind produces a peaceful tone of speech, which keeps you from using harsh and cruel remarks. When you avoid using unpleasant words and statements, you show your kid that they are valued and equally respected by you.

Summing Up

At Chanderbala Modi Academy, regarded as the best school in Bharuch, we believe that the wounds left by verbal abuse in childhood may have major consequences throughout a child’s life. So, if you are worried about your child’s well-being and want him to grow into a nice human being, be cautious of your behavior towards your kids. Even if you don’t mean it by heart, avoid using any kind of harsh language with them. Keep in mind, abusing your kids can no way reflect your love or care towards them; love can never be replaced with abuse!