Plenty of parents have been at their wits’ end when words rolled off their tongue that they later wished had remained unspoken. In fact, there have probably been times you have told yourself, “You’re an idiot,” or “How stupid can you be?” Have you ever thought about how impactful your words really are?
“Our words create our world,” says Dr. Justin Coulson, father of six and best-selling author of “10 Things Every Parent Needs To Know” and “9 Ways to a Resilient Child.”
“Whatever direction your words lead, your mind and body will follow. We believe what we tell ourselves. Language is powerful. Words don’t just affect us and the way we see ourselves. They affect the way we see our children.”
When Coulson asked a frustrated mother to describe her teenage daughter, the mother said things like, “She’s disrespectful. She’s wasteful. She treats our house like a hotel.” But when Coulson asked the mother about her daughter’s strengths, she talked about how caring and generous her daughter was and the fact that she was a great sister. It was almost like she was describing two different people.
“The language we use about one another, and towards each other, impacts how we see one another,” Coulson says.