Teach Your Child Not To Follow Stereotypes
In this article, we’ll talk about teaching your child the benefits of being authentic and not following stereotypes.
There are many concepts of stereotypes. But to have a clear idea about it, we will start with the definition that the Michaelis dictionary has: an “ image, an idea that categorizes someone or something based only on false generalizations, expectations and judgment habits”.
In other words, no one can change this “example to follow” that is idealized by a group of people. Because otherwise you would be seen as someone who doesn’t fit.
But what happens when following these stereotypes becomes an obligation to socialize? It is no secret that there comes a time in children’s lives when they try to act in a certain way to please others, schoolmates, neighborhood or club.
And this willingness to adopt a new way of being can worsen during adolescence. It is during adolescence that our children feel real pressure from their peer group.
In these years of their lives, they will be tempted to accept as their own a particular way of speaking, dressing, and acting because these qualities will help them to be accepted by the majority.
The emotional stability associated with the idea of popularity
Our children will invest all their energy into becoming part of a group that is known to be popular. If you can’t, the rejection of these peers can trigger severe depression and complexes.
So what can we parents do to protect children from the social prisons typical of their ages? There are many actions we can take as mothers to reduce the impact of rejecting our children. From approaching your group of friends to get to know their interests to locking our children indoors to try to protect them.
It is very likely that we will exaggerate the measures we will apply to keep them safe. But we must avoid the risk of reinforcing its weaknesses and complexes . Therefore, it is recommended to raise children with pressure-proof self-esteem.
But how do we get our children to be emotionally strong and develop self-love? This goal is not achieved overnight. For this reason, from an early age, we must teach them that they are free and that they deserve respect.
attention at home
However, many times it is us, the parents, who cause some complexes in our children, by treating them according to the gender stereotypes we were raised with. And it may seem harmless to us to tell our five-year-old daughter not to play with toy cars, because that’s a boy thing.
Or maybe get our child’s attention, because boys don’t cry. But the truth is that these actions are the tip of the iceberg in the development of complexes that will prevent our children from being afraid to show their identity, and in the future it seems normal to be forced to follow stereotypes.
Since teaching our children not to follow stereotypes is a progressive task, below we will give some advice to apply from childhood to adolescence.
Advice for teaching our kids not to follow stereotypes
- Respect his tastes and don’t try to force him to dress a certain way. Remember that all the clothes your child owns were bought by the father and mother. So you need to be flexible when your five-year-old tells you he doesn’t want to wear that shirt.
- Your actions can generate your child’s inhibition to act as he is. Give your girl the confidence to climb a tree without feeling that she will be judged, and your child to wear a pink shirt without it meaning anything. Allow them to feel free and loved.
- Set limits. It’s true that it’s important to teach our children to follow rules and set limits that they can move beyond as they age. However, you must allow discussions to be generated as to what is right and what is not.
- Communication, the success factor. When adolescence arrives, it is essential to talk to your child about the importance of not nullifying yourself as an individual by following stereotypes.
- Explain to him that we are all different. These differences are enriching and allow us to learn from others. Help him identify when someone wants to impose some idea on how he should act or dress.
If there comes a time when he suffers some kind of rejection for not connecting with the majority, remind him that he is within his rights to decide whether to walk away from the people who hurt him or to continue fighting to defend his point of view.
Your child should be able to understand that following stereotypes can be positive if it helps us to overcome ourselves personally or professionally. But when stereotypes try to nullify who we are, they must be discouraged.
