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When we hear our kids say something negative about themselves, sometimes we freak out a little. Where did they hear this? Where is this coming from? Who is messing with my baby? !

Most often, if a kid calls herself “stupid” because she’s frustrated with homework, she might just be venting. Or joking. She might be showing us that she has a little rigidity around perfection. 

But when negative self-talk is insistent, consistent, and persistent, it can also be a sign of stress or anxiety. 

In this episode we discuss how to better understand our kids’ negative self-talk, and the most productive ways of responding. There’s a bonus: turns out most of those strategies also work for our own “No, are you kidding? I look horrible, the pandemic has aged me a decade!” moments.

Here are links to two resources we discuss in this episode: 

Andrew M.I. Lee for Understood: Why Kids Say Negative Things About Themselves 

https://www.understood.org/articles/en/child-negative-self-talk

@transformingtoddlerhood on Instagram

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