There are many parents these days including myself who are overly concerned about what their kids are eating and that is justified as proper nutrition is one of the keys to living a long and healthy life. The one thing that we do not often think about is how our kids overall health is affected by the words we speak to them and the way that we say them. We know that words can have an effect on a child’s emotional health, but they can also affect their physical health as well. Here are some of the ways in which words can affect a child’s health.
Saying negative words about his or her physical appearance can lead to eating disorders in the future. There are a lot of children in this country who are suffering from eating disorders and the parents are not even aware of it. Some parents are so afraid of their children becoming overweight that they constantly watch what they eat and often scold or criticize them for their eating habits and this can cause them to lose their self-esteem. This can grow into a dislike for eating or wanting to be slim which can have a negative effect on their physical health.
Saying angry words to a child can erode their confidence and some children find comfort in eating food. There is no explanation how emotional eating develops, but once this dependence is formed, it is a very difficult to end.
If a child has a bad experience before bedtime with a parent such as harsh words, this can lead to nightmares for the child and result in them getting a poor nights rest. Frequent encounters of this kind leading to poor rest can lower their immune system and increase their possibility for getting a variety of sicknesses.
Children who do not live in a good home environment want to get away from their parents and spend time with their friends and once this happens, you have no control over what your child is eating. The younger kids tend to lean towards junk food when their parents are not around. Once you have lost the respect of your children, they do not want to listen to what you have to say and therefore, you have little influence on them in developing healthy eating habits.
Telling your child that he or she is useless will eventually make them believe it and once this happens, this will lead them to not take proper care of their body and their health. This could be a reason why some kids turn to drugs and smoking at an early age because of the self-image that their parents have portrayed them to be. If a child believes that he is worthless, he is certainly not going to take care of his body.
These are just a few of the ways that negative words can affect the overall health of a child. So many times as parents, we use negative words toward our children and do not focus on positive words. We need to realize that the words coming out of our mouths do have a huge impact on our children’s lives and health so make sure to choose your words carefully the next time that you are in a confrontation with one of your children and ” Think, Before You Speak .”
I hope that you found this information useful and if you would like more information on ways to live healthy, then please visit my healthy living web site where you will find great information to help you live a long and healthy life.
