There's No Such Thing as a Child Expert

"Calling someone a child expert is a flawed statement. Children are fallible, inconsistent, and unique. Children are human. And no one has ever called themselves a 'human expert.' This statement may seem strange coming from me. I have spent almost a decade working with children and families as a play therapist, I have a Ph.D. in counselor education with a concentration in play therapy, and I spend a lot of my time supporting, studying, and writing about parents."

"I may have expertise in child development, parenting strategies, and children's mental health, but I am not an expert on children or parenting. The terms 'parent expert' or 'child expert' create a false narrative that becoming an expert is a possible destination that parents can reach, which has unintended consequences for caregivers already questioning their every move."

"A quick search of the hashtag 'parenting' yields more than 25 million posts. Though not all claim to be the silver bullet to conquer your parenting challenges, many do offer guidance and support wrapped in a bow of expertise and judgment. Though many of these accounts have credentials, education, and experience that do meaningfully back up their claims, this influx of parenting experts may have unintended consequences for caregivers."

The concept of parenting and child experts is fundamentally flawed because children are inherently unique, inconsistent, and fallible human beings. While professionals may possess expertise in child development, parenting strategies, and children's mental health, this does not make them experts on children or parenting itself. The proliferation of self-proclaimed parenting experts on social media creates unintended consequences for parents already struggling with self-doubt. These expert designations foster a false narrative that parenting mastery is an achievable destination, undermining parental confidence and trust in their own instincts and decisions.

Read at Psychology Today