Inuits have an extraordinary ability to control their anger when disciplining and raising their children.
For more than 30 years, the Inuit parents welcomed anthropologist Jean Briggs into their lives to study how they raise their children. Briggs realized something amazing about these families. The adults had an extraordinary ability to control their anger. “They never acted in anger towards me, although they were angry with me a lot.” She wondered how these parents controlled their anger when they had toddlers prone to having tantrums and how these toddlers can become cool-headed adults. This culture believes it is inappropriate to scold or speak angrily to children. So, for example, even if your children bite you, there is no raising your voice.
The article also says that when little children get upset, they are not pushing your buttons; they are upset about something real that you must figure out instead of just yelling at them. “Traditionally, the Inuit saw yelling at a small child as demeaning. It’s as if the adult is having a tantrum; it’s basically stooping to the level of the child,” Briggs documented. When a parent yells, they believe you are teaching the child to be angry, and you are training the child to yell. Children learn emotional regulation from their parents.
If they do not get angry and never yell, how do these parents discipline their children? Well, the Inuit people, for thousands of years, used storytelling to discipline their children. For example, to keep children away from the water, they don’t yell, “Don’t go near the water!” Instead, they say, “There is a sea monster, and if you get too close, he will put you in his pouch and drag you down to the ocean and adopt you out to another family.”
Psychologist Deena Weisberg states, “Kids learn well through narrative.” So these Inuit parents waited for the child to calm down and then put on a drama in a peaceful moment. The idea is to give the child experiences that will lead the child to develop rational thinking.
Articles Referenced:
- “How Inuit Parents Teach Kids To Control Their Anger,” by Michaeleen Doucleff & Jane Greenhalgh
- “Inuit, Aboriginal and Other Indigenous Discipline Methods From Around the World,” by Lesley-Anne Johanes
Bible Verses Referenced:
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