Question

Five-year-old joe is crying because his favorite aunt is moving away. his parents are in the kitchen arguing about how to respond to the situation. joe's father wants to tell him "big boys don't cry." joe's mother wants to tell him "it is okay to cry when you feel sad." according to research, which response will be most helpful for joe?

Answer 1

According to research, Joe's mother's response will be the most helpful for Joe.
Regardless of the gender of the child, it is okay for them to cry if they are feeling sad when something bad happens. So Joe's dad telling him he shouldn't cry because 'big boys don't cry' won't be helpful for this situation because he is still a young boy and he is feeling sad, so he wants to let his feelings out.