Angry Parents Affect the Wellbeing of Their Children

Some parents do not realize that constant anger in the home affects the wellbeing of their children.  This endangers on how the kids feel about themselves and their attitude towards the world.  

Recently, I had the chance to meet a male teenager who had run away from home. He stayed for a while in his classmates’ house.  He said that he could no longer bear the constant anger of his father, especially that his mother is not living with them.

According to Denise Stern, in the www.livestrong.com website, a parent is bound to become angry now and again, but situations that expose a child to constant anger of the parent, especially the father, may have serious repercussions in childhood development. Exposure to constant anger from a father or father figure may be considered a type of abuse called emotional abuse, which in turn may have a detrimental impact on the growth and development of a small child or a teenager, regardless of gender.

Stern cites that constant anger of parents, especially on the part of the father, have the following repercussions on the wellbeing of their children:

• Fear. Small and middle-aged children constantly exposed to anger from a father may become increasingly fearful in the home environment, afraid of doing or saying something wrong and inviting a father’s disapproval or anger.

• Anxiety. Constant fear over the reaction of a father or fearing his anger may lead a child, regardless of age and gender, to become overly anxious and worried. Anxiety may express itself in different ways, from poor grades in school to an inability to make friends to bed wetting or fear of the dark or even phobias. Older children may grow confused and depressed which sometimes lead to suicidal thoughts or acts.

• Low self-esteem. A child constantly exposed to anger may feel he or she can’t do anything right, seriously affecting self-confidence and self-esteem. A child may feel that nothing she does will gain approval from an angry father, a situation which may develop into an overall lack of concern over personal hygiene, safety or states of depression. In such cases, a depressed child, especially teens, may end up drinking or using drugs.

• Anger. A child constantly exposed to anger by a father figure may very well become an angry individual, resentful of authority in any shapes or form. Such anger may present in behavior problems at school, both with peers and with teachers, and generally disturbing or disruptive behavior in social environment.

• Overall, children of angry parents have poor adjustment. There is a strong relationship between parental anger and delinquency. The effects of parental anger can continue to impact the adult child, including increasing degrees of depression, social alienation, spouse abuse and career and economic development.

As a final shot here’s a reminder from the website https//lakesidelink.com: “Dealing with anger is so important to ensuring a healthy family…”