Former Astronaut Slammed For Telling His Kid, Crying Is a Weakness
Dr Sheikh Muszaphar, Malaysia’s first astronaut, was slammed by netizens for telling his son that crying is a sign of weakness.
Source: Instagram, drsheikhmuszaphar
In the video, Dr Muszaphar was heard trying to calm his son, Adam, who lost his snack. While trying to calm the boy down, he asked him a question that triggered the netizens.
“Remember, crying is a sign of?”
“Is a sign of weakness.”
Netizens were unhappy, calling him out on his parenting. They said that it is perfectly fine to cry as it allows the child to regulate their emotions.
Some said that real men do cry and encouraged Adam to cry.
There are those who think that allowing the children to cry helps develop empathy.
Then there are those who agreed with Dr Muszaphar, saying that children should learn to use their words to communicate their emotions.
Dr Muszaphar explained in the comments section what he meant by crying is a sign of weakness. He wanted his children to verbalise what’s bothering them instead of crying over every little thing.
He also went on to say that crying is okay for children to regulate their emotions but they need to learn to communicate verbally lest they make crying a habit.
He also mentioned that sometimes children cry because they cannot express what they’re feeling. When that happens, parents need to have a conversation with them after they’ve calmed down.
Dr Muszaphar is the first Malaysian astronaut. He joined the crew of Expedition 16 aboard the Soyuz TMA-11 in October 2007. According to an NST article in 2020, he was reportedly to have conducted experiments related to characteristics and growth of liver cancer and leukaemia cells. He also studied the crystallisation of proteins and microbes in space.
Reporter’s Opinions: As an ex educator, I have an issue with how he said crying is a sign of weakness. I get that he wants Adam to use his words to communicate instead of crying over something he lost.
But by telling Adam that it is a sign of weakness, the boy may start to fight his tears anytime he’s sad because he wants to be strong. In the long run, that will become an unhealthy coping mechanism as he learns to bottle up his emotions in order not to trigger his tears.
Perhaps saying that crying does not solve the problem is better as Adam seems to understand cause and effect from the video Dr Muszaphar posted.
I understand that as a parent, he wants his children to communicate their needs and wants rather than resort to crying to get his attention. But his choice of words could have been better.
Crying is never a sign of weakness, it is a sign of strength and empathy. The ability to regulate one’s emotions and feel deeply is a forgotten soft skill. We are taught to be strong, to laugh in the face of sadness and fear that we forget that the heart is meant to feel. Sometimes when words fail, tears fall and that is perfectly fine.
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