Parenting Advice: Breaking the Negativity Loop

By Alycia Williams

Being a parent is hard work, and on a day-to-day basis you usually don’t think about the negativity loop, but it may be time to take a closer look. The negativity loop is when your child seems to only point out the negative things in a situation. Once in a while you may say they’re having a bad day, but if you find that your child is doing this consistently, you’ll need some parenting advice on how to break the cycle.

Is your kids constantly riding the negativity loop? Here is some parenting advice when it comes to breaking that negativity loop.

1. Start by validating their emotions: Validation allows your kids to feel heard. You are not agreeing or disagreeing with the emotion; you’re showing that you see it. You could add a question to help your kids discover positive aspects of the experience themselves. So, try to validate first before you try to help children appreciate positive aspects of a situation.

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2. Reflect on positive events: For younger children help them identify the big points in their day vs. the low parts. Ask them what was the best part of their day and the worst. It’ll help them pin point if they had a good or bad day. With older kids have them right down their positive and negative experiences, it does the same thing that it does for the younger kids, but it’s more age appropriate.

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3. Foster gratitude: Have your kids identify what their grateful for each day. It shows them that they have something to be happy for. For younger kids you can make it into a daily game and for older kids you can have them write it down and make a daily log.

4. Provide the tool for a solution: When your child is seeking out the negative, find ways to come up with solutions to their negativity. Ask them questions on why they feel the way they do and try to come up with a solution together.

5. Flip the negative to a positive: When your child is riding the negativity loop, they’re looking for the negative in every situation. You should look for the positive in the exact same situations. Try and help them find the positive in things rather than the negatives.

What are some parenting advice when it comes to breaking that negativity loop. Start a conversation in the comments below!