Are you raising a self-centered person?
Difficult kids can grow up to become narcissistic adults – extremely self-centered with an exaggerated sense of self-importance, excessive admiration of or infatuation with oneself.
Dr. Ramani Durvasula shared with CNBC that there are 2 parenting styles that lead to a child becoming such a self-obsessed adult. Oddly, both these parenting styles are opposite of each other, yet give similar results. Being 'extreme' in their ways is something common in both these styles.
Traumatized, neglected, poor attachment style pathway
If a child is not cared for as much as they should be, and are left emotionally neglected, then they too might grow up learning not to respect the feelings and needs of others. Children learn a lot by what they see and experience.
It is important for parents to be aware of the fact that parenting is a complex journey and just being an adult or 'parent' does not always make you right all the time. You need to take your child's feelings and development stage into consideration. It is important that you yourselves are fit and learned enough on how to raise a child correctly.
Child should not be blamed
It is important to note that children go through a journey of understanding and dealing with their emotions, till they can finally manage their actions and emotions to a great extent. You need to be patient and teach them, instead of expecting them to always act all ‘sweet and polite’.
Overindulged, spoiled child pathway
The second harmful parenting style that can raise a selfish adult involves spoiling the child and giving them a clean pass every time, even when they are wrong. This inflates the child’s self-worth and they might never learn to apologize and accept when they make a mistake. You may think you are only loving your child, however, not knowing when to draw the line can have a negative impact on your child's personality.
Teach them kindness and humility
Children learn a lot by what they see around them. Setting the right example can help correct their behavior. If you are kind and polite to the people around you, especially those at a lower financial status or younger to you, then your child too will learn the same. How you react will influence how your child acts.
Read more: Extraordinary qualities of September-born babies
How both lead to selfish adults
Both these parenting styles reinforce self-centered existence, where the child is taught that what they are going through is more important than any other person’s experience. Both these parenting styles lead to a child with poor emotional regulation skills, who lack empathy and sensibility as adults.
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