--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Having an emotional intolerance for…" description: "\"“Having an emotional intolerance for helplessness can lead to parental behaviors that target that helplessness in children and attack them for it... Wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/773/daniel-siegel-77852_children_having-an-emotional-intolerance-for-help_391075.jpg" --- # Having an emotional intolerance for helplessness can lead… ![“Having an emotional intolerance for helplessness can lead to parental behaviors that target that helplessness in children and attack them for it... When their lives provoke the intolerable emotion in us, our inability to be aware of it consciously and to make sense of it in our own lives leaves us…” quote by Daniel Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/773/daniel-siegel-77852_children_having-an-emotional-intolerance-for-help_391075.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/773/daniel-siegel-77852_children_having-an-emotional-intolerance-for-help_391075.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/773/daniel-siegel-77852_children_having-an-emotional-intolerance-for-help_391075.jpg) > ““Having an emotional intolerance for helplessness can lead to parental behaviors that target that helplessness in children and attack them for it... When their lives provoke the intolerable emotion in us, our inability to be aware of it consciously and to make sense of it in our own lives leaves us at risk of being unable to tolerate it in our children... This intolerance can take the form of becoming blind to or ignoring our children's emotions, which gives them a sense of unreality and disconnects them from their own feelings... Then, the unsuspecting child becomes the recipient of hostile responses that become woven into his internal sense of identity and directly impair his ability to tolerate those very same emotions in himself.”” Daniel Siegel ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Parents who cannot tolerate their own feelings of helplessness may project hostility onto children, harming the child's emotional development and self‑acceptance. **In simple terms:** Intolerant parents can hurt kids emotionally. Key Takeaway Recognize and manage your own emotions to protect children. Themes parenting emotion identity attachment psychology Mood reflective concerned Type advice psychological When to use this quote - family therapy - parent‑child communication - emotional coaching - self‑awareness Key Concepts attachment theory emotional regulation inner child identity formation Questions to Reflect On - How do your own feelings of helplessness affect your parenting? - What steps can you take to become more emotionally aware? A Different Perspective Children may internalize hostility, leading to long‑term emotional difficulties. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) ## Related quotes > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. 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