If Children Are Easily Offended, Expert Advice: Invite Them To Play And Talk

Illustration of children is easily offended (Freepik/YuliaKa)

YOGYAKARTA Children who are easily offended, tend to be solitary and avoid painful feelings. The mechanism of their feelings is actually used daily by everyone in defense. With a defense mechanism, emotions can be regulated especially when dealing with stress.

Several defense mechanisms also help to adapt to social situations more effectively. But in a number of cases, this mechanism makes a person easily offended, easily angry, hitting, and throwing things.

Children who tend to be easily offended appear to be blocking bad emotions and even becoming annoying. Launching Psychology Today, Tuesday, March 21, disturbing symptoms allow them not to feel their painful emotions. Children become more easily angry than feeling sad. This kind of defensive action is very maladaptive because it is more detrimental to children.

Leon Hoffman, MD., psychotherapist and psychoanist of West End Day School, New York City explains that Regulation-Focused Psychotherapy for Children can be used for therapeutic methods. Systematic approaches to helping children cope with painful feelings, lead to play therapy and form bonds with children. The therapists also observe the patterns of children when they play and talk in psychotherapy sessions.

In children with immobile anger, there is a recurring sequence. This means that there is always a stimulus or trigger experienced by children as a threat. For adults, this stimulus may seem trivial but a source of frustration for children. Children's behavior that is easily offended and angry needs to be realized by parents and teachers. Two parties who play a role in accompanying these children, need to think about how to be effective in teaching children to cope with painful emotions without harming themselves.

It may be difficult for adults to empathize with the child's pain. However, once events subside, adults can try to imagine, maybe the events they experience cannot be tolerated. In this way, it will help you better understand how children feel. Next, don't react spontaneously to your child's actions because this will not be effective.

Hoffman's advice can be practiced, which is to try to invite children to play more often while talking. Parents will also understand situations that trigger children to be easily offended and angry. In a calmer and more enjoyable situation, they can learn how to regulate defense mechanisms that do not prevent them from pain.