Kevin at More4kids posted an important piece about the fact that labeling children or calling them demeaning names can do long-term damage to them. He gives some good parenting advice on corrective action if you do slip up. If you have children or grandchildren, or plan to, do check out "Parenting and How Labeling Your Child Can Be Destructive" It’s basic child psychology.

However, do you know why the damage can be so fast and long-lasting?

It has to do with the way children learn. From about age three to age nine or ten, children’s brainwaves look like the brainwaves of an adult under hypnosis. When you say something to a child in that age range, it is taken in instantly and without question. The child has just accepted a "truth." These truths are called "introjects."

Parental pronouncements are swallowed whole and become part of the child’s view of the world. This childhood ability allows the child to learn huge quantities of information, attitudes and values without even thinking about it.

If you say "The car won’t start unless your seatbelt is fastened," that’s the truth, until he starts figuring things out around age ten. However, if you tell a child he’s stupid or he won’t amount to anything, that’s also the truth, but that truth could stay permanently lodged in his belief system.

So be very careful you don’t use labels which could sabotage your child for a lifetime.

Thank you, Kevin, for your timely parenting article.