Labelling a child is almost like putting your child in a box with boundaries hindering his growth and development. Although labels can be positive or negative, tagging your child as a ‘Problem child’ gives a preconceived notion of what he is. It creates an image of your child and affects his psyche to a great extent.

Rather than calling your juniors as problem makers, parents need to realize that no one knows their defiant child better than what they do. You just need to use right tools and methods to rectify your child’s behaviour and as always keep patience, which is an essential component of successful parenting.

Almost all children have episodes of bad behaviour; some exhibit it less and others frequently. As a parent, you need to convey to your child that you love him and you are always there for him.  A big hand in the formation of parent- child bond is the words that you use and how you express it to your child. Constant nagging and scolding can hinder your child’s self confidence to a great extent.

Influence of Negative labelling

The titles or the words associated with us have the power to influence us; just like our names. A good name brings positive feel in our professional and personal lives whereas a bad name affects person’s or organization’s image and acts as an impediment for growth.

• Hinders self confidence and growth: When a negative label is placed on a child, he unconsciously believes that he is a ‘Problem creator’ because of this stigma. Thus labeling children into categories limits their capabilities and influences the behavior of the people around him as well.
• Makes your child a bully: Children put labels on other children to vent out their anger and frustrations. Name-calling gives power over the other child which makes him feel little less miserable for the labeling he gets on himself.
• Weakens the parent-child bond: By repeatedly labeling your child, you decrease the worth of a parent’s relationship with a child. Instead of strengthening him to overpower his weaknesses, when your child sees you disrespecting him, he loses the respect for the parents as well.

Thus there is no doubt that ‘labeling’ harms a child. And it is one of the worst types of mental bullying that any adult can place within a child’s mind.