When helping kids learn from their mistakes and correcting past behavior, itâs important for parents and other role models to separate what they DID, and who they ARE.
Look at the exchange in the images above. The kid apologizes for âbeing bad,â and the adult points out that it isnât a question of âbeing.â Itâs about specific behavior.
âDefinitely was acting brand new. But you ainât got a bad bone in your body.â
For a personal example, Iâve been working with one of my kids about bullying other kids. And when she behaves that way, I will tell her, âWhat youâre doing is bullying,â or âStop bullying them.â
What I WONâT say is âYouâre being a bully.â
Because kids listen (even when we feel like they arenât) and they are constantly taking in information that they use to define themselves. And the worst thing I could do in this situation is say, âYouâre being a bully,â and they believe me.
It happens so often, itâs tragic. We tell kids, âYouâre a bully,â âYouâre dumb,â âYouâre being obnoxious,â and they internalize that. And as soon as a kid accepts âI am a bullyâ as part of their identity, they will act accordingly.
On the flip side, I used to think it was OK to label kids with âbeingâ statements as long as they were positive, but Iâve learned even that has hidden dangers.
For example, imagine one of my kids finishes a puzzle really quickly, and I respond by saying, âYouâre so smart!â Seems great, right?
But what happens when they move on to a harder puzzle and they donât finish as quickly? So they start thinking things like, âDad said Iâm smart because I can do puzzles fast. But I didnât do this one fast so I guess Iâm not smart after all.â Or, âDad says Iâm smart because I can do puzzles fast, but I didnât do this one fast so it must be a stupid puzzle thatâs made wrong.â
I guess my point is, use âyou areâ statements sparingly and carefully with kids. Tell them things like, âYou are important,â âYou are valuable,â âYou are loved.â But when it comes to behavior, make it clear that what they do does not define who they are. Let them define themselves.