Whether you were planning on having a child or whether the birth of a child was a pleasant surprise, raising a child is hard work. There are many parenting books out there, but none of them have the right formula, and most parents make the most of what they learned, or didn't learn, from their own parents.
Samantha, a parenting content creator on TikTok under the name “Raising Self,” is working hard to overcome generational trauma and raise her children differently. Recently, one of her children made a surprising revelation when she was making a live video to interact with her followers. It was that her child was scared of her.
You could tell by the look on her face that his confession came as a surprise, and the two had a very meaningful conversation, even though he barely took his eyes off the video game he was playing. Instead of being upset or happy that her child was scared, she reacted with curiosity.
Some people think that children should fear their parents in order to respect them, but Samantha's interaction with her son overturns that idea. He started the conversation like this: “This may come as a bit of a shock, but sometimes I'm actually a little scared of you.” Samantha examines him a little closer and finds out that he's scared. It turns out it's time for her “grandma instincts to come out,” referring to generational patterns that her mother has tried hard to avoid repeating.
Samantha answered without hesitation: “Yes, I didn't know. I'm sorry you feel that way.” She continued, “If something like this happens to you, please speak up. It helps me understand why we're not reducing that kind of behavior.'' She was shocked, but the conversation didn't end there. This is a great interaction that can guide other parents on how to navigate these types of conversations.
Watch the entire conversation below.
This article was originally published on December 21, 2022.
