I'M sick of you. You never do anything right. Shut up. Get out of my sight. How would you feel if someone shouted those things at you? Afraid? Humiliated? Confused? Defiant?
It can be hard for parents to face up to the fact that the way they speak to and treat their children can stay with them for life, and have a damaging effect far beyond when the physical pain of a skelp has passed.
That's why our helpline, ParentL
ine Scotland, is delighted to team up with Strathclyde Police's Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) to raise awareness of the impact of emotional and physical violence on children, and to encourage parents to think about the way they relate to their children.
The Scotland-wide poster campaign will feature children with harsh words scrawled across their faces which many parents feel are normal – perhaps because this is how their own parents spoke to them.
We all know children imitate the behaviour of those who look after them. If they learn to resolve conflict with violence or anger, should we be surprised if they carry on that pattern of behaviour as adults?
The VRU is at the sharp end of Scotland's culture of violence, which is often learned in the home. That is why their early years' initiative aims to prevent violence through education and attitudinal change.
The posters will be accompanied by a leaflet offering parents tips on how to cope when they're at the end of their tether, and includes advice such as praising children when they do well, imposing consistent rules and boundaries, focusing on punishing the behaviour, not the child, and knowing when and where to go for support.
Children 1st provides 44 services for children and families across Scotland, and we know from our work that most parents want to be good parents.
We encourage anyone caring for a child who is stressed, frustrated or worried to call ParentLine Scotland and take the first step to breaking Scotland's cycle of violence.
Anne Houston is chief executive of the charity Children 1st, which runs ParentLine Scotland (0808 800 2222).The full article contains 357 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
