Teach Your Child To Face Teasing
While it may seem like a little teasing among children is insignificant, it can have a huge impact on their psychological development. That’s why we must teach our children how to face teasing from a young age.
The frequency and cruelty of teasing can vary. One of the main reasons behind this kind of interaction is ignorance and lack of empathy.
In other words, when children are faced with something they don’t know, they may begin to make fun of it. They basically believe that making fun is the best way to interact with new things.
Factors that can influence teasing
- The child’s age.
- Family support.
- Household values.
- The child’s social skills.
- Presence or absence of academic counselors.
- Behavior of teachers in charge of the children.
- The way a new classmate is introduced.
Science reveals the impact of teasing
Humiliation has been proven to have an impact on a person’s brain. The impact is even more intense than those of emotions like joy and anger.
A group of scientists from the University of Amsterdam conducted an experiment to measure the impact of humiliation and teasing.
They selected a group of individuals and they read a few stories to them. During the readings, people had to put themselves in the place of the protagonists. This allowed them to experience the different feelings that the protagonist felt.
Scientists have proven that the discomfort caused by humiliation is more hurtful than we had previously believed.
Humiliation activated areas of the brain that are related to pain. That’s what made scientists suspect that humiliation is perceived by the brain as intensely as pain is.
How to teach children to deal with teasing?
Parents should find out what is happening and analyze the best options to follow.
What is the root of the teasing? How frequent is it? How does the child react to it? And finally, how can you help the child face teasing in a healthy way?
You have to answer these questions in order to solve the problem in the best and quickest way possible.
It’s also important to find out whether your child is the object of ridicule; or on the contrary, the one who mocks and bullies others.
Children should be taught how to react appropriately to teasing. This will help them attack the root of the problem and it will disarm their mockers.
Depriving the person who is doing the teasing from the effect they want will cause them to get bored and they’ll stop the teasing.
Violence is never the solution. There are always healthy alternatives to face teasing.
We should never label our children as “cowards” or “crybabies”, as this doesn’t solve the problem nor make them stronger. The best option is to give them respect, love and understanding.
Once the child explains their problem, it’s important for us to empathize with their feelings. It’s also important to share personal anecdotes with them that can help reassure them.
We should place emphasis on the positive aspects of the situation, and let them know that we can find a solution.
Key advice
- Never incite violence.
- If it’s like mockery, we should teach the children to ignore it until the aggressor tires.
- If the mockery is moderate or severe, it’s best to go to the educational institution to talk to a teacher or school counselor to find an end to the situation. It’s important to find a swift solution.
- We should also teach our children to be respectful towards everyone. This will help them face teasing in an appropriate way.
- Once the situation is brought to our attention, we should support them unconditionally. It’s important to make them feel loved and supported.
- Everything has a positive side and important lessons to be learned. It’s important to reflect on this aspect.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Castillo Quiñonez, G. G. (2015). Promover los valores sociales y familiares para evitar las burlas y el índice de malas palabras dentro del salón de clases en los niños de 4 a 5 años de la escuela Dr. Otto Arosemena Gómez año lectivo 2014-2015(Bachelor’s thesis, Universidad de Guayaquil Facultad de Filosofía, Letras y Ciencias de la Educación). http://repositorio.ug.edu.ec/handle/redug/13219
- Reynolds, C., & Richmond, B. (1997). Escala de ansiedad manifiesta en niños (revisada). CMAS-R. Manual. México: El Manual Moderno.
- Albornoz, N., Silva, N., & López, M. (2015). Escuchando a los niños: Significados sobre aprendizaje y participación como ejes centrales de los procesos de inclusión educativa en un estudio en escuelas públicas en Chile. Estudios Pedagógicos (Valdivia), 41(ESPECIAL), 81-96. https://scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0718-07052015000300006&script=sci_arttext