No one ever said that parenting is easy. And frankly, if anyone has, they probably didn’t have kids. Every parent-child dynamic is different, and every kid needs different things from their parents. But there are some things common to the developmental stage of adolescence, and subsequent parental reactions, that should be very carefully navigated.
Over the next 5 weeks, I will discuss the most common parenting mistakes, and how to stop making them today.
Week 3 | Invalidating
Parents need to be careful to validate their child’s emotional experience. No matter how juvenile or silly a child’s emotional reaction to a given instance may seem, a parent should never invalidate their experience, or neglect to engage with their child over their emotional state. This can lead their child to hide emotions, and process them ineffectively, or, alternatively, not pay enough attention to their own emotional experiences, leading to feeling even minimal emotions overly intensely.
Start Today Tip: Emotional intelligence is incredibly important. Learn to identify your child’s emotions and acknowledge them without judgment.
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Konstantin Lukin, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist in Ridgewood and Hoboken, NJ. He has extensive clinical and research experience spanning individuals of all ages, in both inpatient and outpatient settings. He specializes in men’s issues, couple’s counseling, and relationship problems. His therapeutic approach focuses on providing support and practical feedback to help patients effectively address personal challenges. He integrates complementary modalities and techniques to offer a personalized approach tailored to each patient. He has been trained in cognitive-behavioral, dialectical behavior, schema-focused, and emotionally focused therapy, and has also been involved with research projects throughout his career, including two National Institute of Mental Health-funded studies. He is a member of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, New Jersey Psychological Association, Northeast Counties Association of Psychologists, New York State Psychological Association, The International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy, The New York Center for Emotionally Focused Therapy, the International OCD Foundation, the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACSB) and a regular contributor to Psychology Today.
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