Some people live in a blame culture where they have a habit of blaming others for their misfortunes and shortcomings. They don’t want to take responsibility for how life is going for them and it is so much easier to see it as another person’s fault. When we move the responsibility onto someone else, we don’t take ownership of our problems. If parents regularly blame others for their misfortunes, then it is likely that our children will too. They see us blaming others and therefore are likely to do it themselves.
Parents don’t want to encourage their children to play the blame game. It’s not a great habit and can lead to a negative outlook on life.
Tips to Avoiding Children Blaming Others
- Help children to accept and cope with everyday situations that occur. Build resilience and discourage blaming others if something goes wrong.
- Help them to take responsibility for their actions and own up to their own mistakes. Self-reflection is valuable and we often learn the most from making mistakes. View them as a learning tool and any situation will feel more positive.
- Help them take control of their life. If they always have excuses for forgetting things or being disorganised, help them to create routines and reminders to get on top of things.
- Teach children life and communication skills. If they don’t communicate well, people won’t know what they want or need. Their behaviour may be causing problems that feed into the blame game, so help them learn how to deal with social situations.
- Help them see that blaming others does not improve the situation. They will feel better if they can be honest about themselves.
How do you help your child who likes to blame others/make excuses for their behaviour? I’d love to hear what’s worked for you.
If you do need some outside help with this issue or taking responsibility for their actions please do get in touch with me.
