5 Situations that let you know how to react if your child is hurt

Surely every parent has come across some unsolicited advice from strangers who mindlessly invade their personal space, wanting to educate the kids (and their parents). This is uncomfortable because the parents’ ability is questioned and a sensitive child may even be scared in a situation like this.

O awesome.club studied 5 common situations in which parents can see how to properly protect themselves and handle the situation tactfully when strangers give them advice that no one asked for or when it is unnecessary.

Imagine the situation: on a beautiful spring day, your child is happily jumping through puddles, when suddenly an unfamiliar person makes an unsolicited comment. She assumes responsibility for the child and feels it is her duty to judge “careless” parents.

In this case, you should not enter into a conversation with this stranger, because if you do, you will get nervous and set a bad example for your child. It is better to tell the person that you have everything under control: the child is wearing rubber boots, and you allow him to play like that.

Then, you will have to explain to your little one why you responded that way so that he can use this experience as a basis in the future. Tell him that rubber boots protect his feet from water and that pants can be easily washed in the washing machine.

If the child is older and can respond on his own to comments from strangers, teach him to say the following: “Thanks for caring, but my parents let me play like this because I wear wellies and they wash my pants in the washing machine. clothes”.

A stranger makes a comment because the child disturbs the comfort of others or puts them in harm’s way. For example, your child is fighting or throwing sand, and you, as a parent, are distracted and haven’t caught their attention. Here we must admit that the stranger acted well to intervene in the situation and you should thank him: “Thank you for noticing it before I did. Sorry”. This will teach the child to be grateful and admit responsibility for the facts. Teach her how to do it, even if she accidentally did something wrong. Then, be sure to explain that she misbehaved, so a stranger was forced to stop you or make a comment.

Sometimes a stranger can make a completely inappropriate comment that invades the child’s personal space and even offends him. For example, a tactless neighbor criticizes your daughter’s appearance. Such comments about gender, nationality, health, appearance and the like must be firmly stopped. There is no need to start a conflict: most likely, the neighbor is already prepared for the argument, so you should not argue or waste her energy. Tell her calmly and confidently, “My daughter has the right to play and dress as she likes, and I accept her desire to be herself.” Then explain to the child that the neighbor should not intrude in this way and that appearance is a matter of personal taste.

If the child is older, teach him to assert his rights by saying: “I don’t need you to understand me”, “I don’t talk to strangers”, “adults shouldn’t disturb children”, “that’s my thing”. ” and things like that.

It sometimes happens that a stranger, in front of the parents, perceives that a child is in danger. For example, walking around the playground, you lose a minute to respond to a message. And at that moment your child climbs onto a broken slide. Most of us have found ourselves in such a situation, but not everyone knows how to behave properly. Of course, you should explain to the child that he shouldn’t climb on a broken toy, but even more important is to tell him that this attentive stranger just wanted to help prevent a possible accident. If the stranger still hasn’t left, thank him with your child. This is necessary so that the child understands that not all people on the street are bad or dangerous, among them we also find kind and caring people.

Sometimes it also happens that your child behaves normally, but someone makes an unfounded comment. For example, when playing in a sandbox, the neighbor, the mother of a girl, asks her son to play with the cars elsewhere, although this does not bother the rest of the children. In such a situation, you have to firmly and confidently defend both your child and your rights and competence as a parent. Answer the bitter mother: “My son has not offended anyone in any way and you have no right to tell him what to do. If you don’t like something, you can always find another playground,” or “What right do you have to kick my son out? We are not going anywhere because this is a public place.” By watching him, your child will learn to respond to inappropriate comments and will be able to fend for himself as an adult.

Have you ever had to listen to similar comments from strangers? How did you respond?