Emotional And Verbal Abuse Can Affect A Child Psychologically; How Much Damage Can It Do?

Parents play arguably the largest part in the development of children, so whatever they do definitely has a big effect on their children's life. However, if the treatment of a parent toward their children is deemed inappropriate, they can easily damage their child psychologically.

Teaching the child proper manners and the correct way to do certain things can be tiring. And teaching them the difference between right and wrong can be even more daunting. Parents can get stressed out and sometimes blurt out things that no child should ever hear.

On the popular question and answer site Quora, one user asked, "What is the most psychologically damaging thing you can say to a child?" There was obviously not a single majority answer to the question. Other users on Quora drew on their own personal experiences with their parents to help the person who asked the question.

One user compared her mother to a volcano when she got mad. She said her mother spewed verbal attacks towards her and berated her until she cried. Another user said that the most damaging thing you can say to a child is to say nothing at all. It would be difficult for a child if they barely talked to their parents.

The Independent asks an important question in "can an unkind comment said in a rage, a joke that your child misinterprets, or a formal silence unravel otherwise good parenting?" Dr. Matt Woolgar explains that this all boils down to what a person means by damage. 

"You can certainly say things that hurt a child and contribute to their development of self-concept. But you're not going to say one thing that is going to scar them neurobiologically," he says. Dr. Woolgar stresses the importance of parents understanding that all children are different and have to cope with different scenarios in their life. This could affect their sensitivity. And even though their siblings would be okay with jokes and somewhat underhanded comments a certain child could take it as a really big blow to their self-esteem.