• Published by Salsabilatuzzahra Jaha S.Psi. from BehaviorPALS Center 

Have you ever said "you’re so lazy" to your child? Or do you often label your child with other labels? Either negative or positive labels. Did you know that it turns out to have a huge impact on children? So what impact will it have if you label children? See the following explanation!

What is labeling?

Often we don't realize that we have actually labeled other people and our children. So what does labeling really mean? Labeling is the giving of a stamp or label to someone who shows certain behavior. In this case, stamps and labels are given to the child. In general, there are positive and negative labels. Labeling is more familiar with negativity which is associated with deviant behavior or problematic behavior. Labeling is usually focused on the problem caused. A simple example is parents who label their children "lazy children" or "bad children". If you have ever heard the term "every word is prayer" then this is true too. Many think labeling is just a trivial matter. In fact, several things will happen due to labeling. The following will explain the impact of labeling, especially on children.

The impact of labeling on children

1. Children act according to what is labeled

How can this happen? Labeling a child will have an impact on the child's self-concept. Self-concept will explain "who I actually am". During childhood, self-concept is formed from experience and learning. Of course, by doing a negative label on the child, it will affect the child's self-concept. In the end, if the child is labeled negatively continuously, the child will conceptualize himself according to being labeled by others. If a child is labeled "lazy" then he will learn and claim himself as "lazy" as well. After that, the child will act according to his self-concept.

2. Interference with the development of potential talents and interests

When parents label a child because he made a mistake when he tried something, it makes the child afraid to explore further. Doing this label also applies to excessively positive labeling of children, this will make children stop in certain fields and only work on areas where they get these positive labels. For example, "you are really good at math" will possibly make children limit themselves to exploring fields other than mathematics.

3. Make others also treat what is labeled

Labeling a child also affects the child's environment. Other people can indirectly treat the child as what is labeled on the child. For example, if a child's parents label their child as "a child with a hard character", then other people who listen to them will also treat the child as a child with a hard character.

4. Decreasing children's mental health

The fatal impact of labeling a child goes to the child's psychological and mental health. Indirectly, the act of labeling a child negatively is similar to doing verbal violence on a child. Continuously and consistently giving negative labels can cause psychological disorders such as lack of self-confidence, distrust in others, and even depression. This will greatly disturb the child's mental health. Decreasing health will hinder the child's development.

Things parents need to do
So what should parents do to avoid label behavior? You can do the following :

• Try to be more positive

Start giving more positive words to children. Maybe this is not easy to do. Try starting by looking at simple positive things. For example, when you see your child's room is very messy, instead of saying "You are so lazy, the room is messy like this" you can better say "How can you make it cleaner, huh?" You can also offer to help tidy up the shared room. Apart from not labeling it with negative labels, you can have better interactions with children.

• Start with small compliments, but don't overdo it

Child labeling is not only negative but also positive. Positive labeling can also be said as a compliment. You can give your child positive labels such as “You are doing it right” or “You are a confident child”. It should also be noted that we should not give excessive positive labeling. This can cause the child to feel burdened with expectations or it will be difficult for the child to accept correction.

By Salsabilatuzzahra Jaha of the BehaviorPALS Center

Source :

Bernburg, J. G. (2009). Labeling Theory. Handbook on Crime and Deviance, 187–207. 

doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-0245-0_10

Lestari, A., & Huda, K. (2022). Loving Not Labeling: The Negative Impact Of Labeling On The Talent And Creative Development Of Children.Genta Mulia: Educational Scientific Journal, 12(1).

De Vega, A., Hapidin, H., & Karnadi, K. (2019). The Effect of Parenting and Verbal Violence on Self-Confidence.Journal of Obsession: Journal of Early Childhood Education, 3(2), 433-439.

Labeling, parenting, verbal, children

Children 4 Years - 6 Years / 4 Tahun - 6 Tahun / Parenting / Pola Asuh / Family / Keluarga / Child labeling: What's the impact?

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