How to Prevent Superiority Complex in Children

Superiority complex may lead to the development of arrogance and many other negative traits in children. Children with superiority complex may not be able to develop health relationships with others. Therefore, it is essential prevent such complex in children to avoid further problems. Read on to know how.Superiority Complex in everyday life refers to the situation of having an elevated opinion about oneself. In the field of psychology the term superiority complex was first used by renowned psychiatrist Alfred Adler in his book called “To Understand Nature of Humans”.Some children excel in every field. This naturally leads to feeling of superiority and the child begins developing the negative effects of such a complex. Here is what you can do as a parent to prevent the development of a superiority complex. In this articleAvoid Excessive ComplimentsAvoid Deriding other KidsExpose Your Kids to Genuine TalentFind the Root Cause of ComplexLevel Your ExpectationsAvoid Excessive ComplimentsComplimenting your kid even when he or she does not deserve it has two powerful negative effects. Firstly, the compliment loses its value as it is so easily available and the child loses interest in achieving something worthwhile to gain a genuine compliment. Secondly the child develops a feeling of superiority as he or she is under the false impression of superior performance.Such kind of compliments may lead to the development of an offhand and even rude attitude towards others. This needs to be checked immediately and one of the best ways to do this is to ensure that compliments are only given when deserved.Avoid Deriding other KidsOften parents spark of the feelings of superiority in kids when they constantly negatively compare other children to their own. Parents need to differentiate between praising children and praising children with the help of negative comparisons.For example, telling a child that his or her performance in the school drama was good is a healthy way of praising. However, telling your kid that everybody else performed badly and theirs was the only good performance is an unhealthy way of praising. This teaches your kids that it is okay to feel superior about oneself and keep deriding other people.Expose Your Kids to Genuine TalentThe best way to curb the development of a superiority complex is to genuinely expose your children to the amazing range of talent that the world offers. Encourage reading classics, watching award winning movies and listening to musical performances by the masters.Teach your kids about the lives and achievements of famous inventors and scientists. Once children truly realise the extent of true talent present in the world they will not feel overtly proud of their own relatively minor achievements.Find the Root Cause of ComplexAs mentioned earlier superiority complex stems generally from an inferiority complex that is hidden inside the child. Unless that complex is tackled the manifestation of arrogance and attitude will not go away.Study your child to understand his or her inner fears and insecurities. Sometimes the fear might be so deep rooted or well disguised that it might not be possible for you to detect it. In this situation do not hesitate to take your kid to a child counsellor or psychiatrist. Often the fear has a lot to do with feelings of inadequacy and avoidance of perceived failure at all costs.Level Your ExpectationsDevelopment of a child’s superiority complex often sets out from the excessively high expectations projected from the parent. As a parent you must learn to be able to differentiate between healthy reasonable expectations and unreasonable high expectations. For example expecting your child to perform well in academics is a reasonable expectation but pressurising your kid to top the exams is an unreasonable expectation.If you remove the stimulus the fear of failure then the linked inferiority complex and the manifestation of the superiority complex will also go away.Confidence is good but overconfidence is fatal. As a parent the above mentioned techniques will surely help you in removing the very roots of superiority complex in your kids.What are the causes of superiority complex in children? How to prevent superiority complex in children? What are the ways to help kids to get rid of superiority complex? Discuss here.