To Yell Or Not To Yell?

Unfortunately I'm not blessed with patience.  I have a short fuse and I find myself snapping at my son when he is being difficult.  He doesn't always deserve it and I feel ashamed of myself. 


Is Shouting Ineffective?

I believe in being firm when a child is misbehaving.  Obviously, there are levels of bad behaviour and the punishment has to fit the crime.  But is it okay to shout at a child?   To give them the full-blown hair dryer treatment?

As a teacher, I worked at a special needs school that specified in the staff handbook that staff were not to shout at children.  That it was unprofessional and ineffective. 

At first, I had mixed feelings about this.  Fortunately, we have moved on from the days when schools caned pupils.  If a child is misbehaving though, how can you NOT raise your voice to them?  What if the situation is serious as it can often be in schools nowadays? 

I can imagine the incident reports:  "I meekly asked Richard to stop throwing chairs at everyone..."


When Shouting Works

Overall, I would say, yes you should be able to raise your voice if your child is misbehaving.  On the following provisos:

• it's at an appropriate level for the misdemeanour
• you don't do it all the time as it reduces the effectiveness
• you are in control of your temper

If you agree/disagree please feel free to comment below.