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As parents, we often suppress our true feelings. Do you let your toddler know you?re aggravated when he freaks out about his milk being in a blue cup instead of a red one" Have you ever told your kid what you really think of her artwork" Did you ever tell your nine-year old that you don?t really love Ironman" Perhaps you mentioned to your teenage son that his hockey games are making you resent winter"
No, you haven?t. Let?s face it: As parents, we often keep our sanity by faking it. ?You want the red cup, honey" This blue one won?t work for you" No problem, sweetheart!? you say through gritted teeth.
But you might want to wipe that fake smile off your face, because a new University of Toronto study, published in the March issue of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, says parents who bury their negative emotions and amplify their positive ones during interactions with their children may end up feeling bad about themselves. Parents in the study reported experiencing decreased emotional well-being, relationship quality, authenticity and responsiveness to their kids? needs. Otherwise put: Burying your anger and exaggerating your happiness while taking care of your kids has negative effects on you. For me, I?ve found that there has to be a happy medium. There are lots of times when I put on my happy face for my kids, despite what may be going on inside my head. Usually, that?s the only way I can deal with sick...