In short, children often use the silent treatment when they don’t know how to handle difficult situations. As a mother, you must teach your children problem-solving skills. Help them control their feelings without needing to resort to this kind of behavior.
Why do children give the silent treatment?
- When kids disrespect parents by doing something they don't want them to. Additionally, silent treatment is most often used by parents with narcissistic traits, who want everything to go their way and cannot handle disobedience. Apart from that, parents can also be emotionally immature at times.
What to do when your child is giving you the silent treatment?
How silent is the silent treatment?Don't lecture her or tell her how hurt you feel.Try to have positive interactions with her.Engage her in activities you've enjoyed doing together.Sit down to meals with her.Don't pump her for information.More items...
How does the silent treatment affect child development?
Silent treatment disrupts that balance, where one feels above everything, while the other loses control and works towards restoring the relationship. Additionally, the silent treatment also hurts vulnerable people such as kids. It is a form of temporary abandonment, where children may not feel supported and/or loved.
How long should the silent treatment last?
Ideally no more than 1 hour, hopefully less. Say “I will be back in *** (time) to continue the discussion” even if you can only manage to come back to agree to close it down for the time being, or take the matter to counselling.
Is the silent treatment immature?
At best the silent treatment isan immature behavior used by spoiled brats and manipulativeindividuals. At worst, it is a weapon used by abusers to punish their victims. One demographic of the population that particularly loves the silent treatment is the narcissist.
How do you respond to silent treatment?
How to respondName the situation. Acknowledge that someone is using the silent treatment. ... Use 'I' statements. ... Acknowledge the other person's feelings. ... Apologize for words or actions. ... Cool off and arrange a time to resolve the issue. ... Avoid unhelpful responses.
What is the psychology behind the silent treatment?
The silent treatment is a particularly insidious form of abuse because it might force the victim to reconcile with the perpetrator in an effort to end the behavior, even if the victim doesn't know why they're apologizing. “It's especially controlling because it deprives both sides from weighing in,” Williams said.
What happens when a child is ignored?
For children, affectional neglect may have devastating consequences, including failure to thrive, developmental delay, hyperactivity, aggression, depression, low self-esteem, running away from home, substance abuse, and a host of other emotional disorders.
What do you do when your child won't talk to you?
What to do:Set appropriate limits, but focus on strengthening your relationship, too. You'll get no respect if he doesn't feel connected to you.Resist the urge to lecture. If you can do that, he won't need to push you away in order to become himself.Remember that teenagers can be emotional.
What type of person gives the silent treatment?
The silent treatment can happen in romantic relationships or any type of relationship, including between parents and children, friends, and co-workers. It can be a fleeting reaction to a situation in which one person feels angry, frustrated, or too overwhelmed to deal with a problem.
Why is silence the best revenge?
Silence speaks volumes Believe it, the silence and zero reaction really bothers your ex, and they consider it as the best served revenge. Nothing creates more curiosity than silence. Your ex would expect a vent or an angry rant from you, but don't give in. If you do, you are meeting their expectations.
Is silent treatment a form of control?
The silent treatment is the refusal to engage in verbal communication with someone, often as a response to conflict in a relationship. Also referred to as giving the cold shoulder or stonewalling, its use is a passive-aggressive form of control and can, in many circumstances, be considered a form of emotional abuse.
Don’T Show Your Cards
Take Charge of The Problem
- You can’t force your children to speak. You need to be available and wait for them to want to talk about the problem. We recommend keeping calm while tackling the problem. Make it clear that the silent treatment isn’t a way to resolve issues. For example, you can say, “I understand that you’re upset. We can’t solve the problem if you don’t talk to me.”
Give Your Children An Incentive to Talk
- Another way to encourage children to open up faster is to take away privileges until they speak. You can take away their phone or video games until they stop using the silent treatment. On the other hand, you can ask them to stay in their room until they’re ready to talk. Don’t turn it into a bitter fight or a big problem. You just have to say, “I’m going to keep your phone until you d…
Don’T Pressure Them
- Asking them over and over again to talk can make them keep quiet even longer. Therefore, you need to give them space to think about what happened and ways to solve the problem. One thing you shouldn’t do is turn the situation into a power struggle. Fighting with your children or using the silent treatment on them won’t solve anything. It will only make the situation worse and hurt you…