Most of us were raised on a steady diet of rice, stew, and guilt.
Served hot with a side of “after everything I’ve done for you,” and washed down with a tall glass of “you’ve embarrassed me.”
We survived it. But now that we’re raising our own kids in a different time, a different world, many of us are asking:
How do I correct my child without crushing their spirit?
How do I discipline without drama, preach without panic, and guide without guilt-tripping them into next week?
But how do I unlearn the only strategies I ever knew?
When Correction Sounds Like Condemnation
You’re already running late. The house is a mess. You just stepped on Lego.
And suddenly, your voice doesn’t sound like yours. It sounds like your mother’s, your auntie’s, your childhood.
“Do you think I have money to be buying new carpet every day?”
You weren’t trying to shame them.
You were just exhausted. But even unintentional words can leave lasting bruises and not the visible kind.
Because here’s the truth: repeated guilt-based reactions don’t teach accountability.
They teach fear.
They teach silence.
They teach kids to hide mistakes, not learn from them.
They build children who apologise for existing even when they’ve done nothing wrong.
Guilt is Our Default Setting
We grew up with:
- Shouting as proof of love
- The silent treatment as punishment
- Public embarrassment as discipline
- And lectures that lasted longer than Sunday service
So now, when we try to parent differently, it feels… awkward. Weak, even.
Like we’re “too soft.”
But here’s the truth: choosing calm over chaos is not softness, it’s strength.
And there is another way.
