Why do some parents shame their children for crying?

They feel that crying is a sign of weakness or a signal of their failure as parents, and consider their own ego and reputation more important than the emotional needs of their child.

Crying is sometimes seen as a weak trait in a lot of traditional cultures. They admire their children for being strong and 'invisible' but little do they know that strong also means crying. Strong means waking up again for another day, strong means falling down and getting back up. There is absolutely nothing wrong with crying, we cry the moment we are born, it is human nature. Never feel ashamed of crying! Cry away little warrior! :)

A parent should never do that, some parents do that because it makes them more mad when they cry, because they feel guilty, and parents hate feeling guilty of things, but that is emotional abuse, if you can't let your child cry.

My mother did this to me my entire life and it never helped anything. I guess to them, it shows weakness. They don't understand fully what their kids are going through and why it makes them upset, because they probably didn't experience it themselves.

They think hat crying makes their children weak but its always wrong to shame your kids for it. Crying is a healthy part of growing up and nothing to be ashamed about.

Some parents aren't prepared to handle their children's emotions. They want to see their children behave in certain ways, even if it's not true to their feelings. Some see crying as a sign of weakness or defiance. So they shame their children for not living up to their rigid expectations. The reality is, children have an immense capacity to be honest -- they haven't learned to conceal their feelings, and put up a facade as adults do. This honesty intimidates those who become rigid-hearted, as those parents who contempt rather than console their crying children.

In previous decades, crying was perceived as weak because people assumed emotions were weak, which is totally untrue. Emotions aren't weak, but letting them eat away and control you is, which is what happens when you don't let them out. Not crying doesn't mean it hurts any less. I wish some parents would see that. Not crying also doesn't make the pain go away.

Because their parents and the culture in general has told them that a child that cries is weak and that weakness will cause you to be a failure in life.

I have been dealing with this for as long as i can remember. It has always made me feel that my feelings weren't wanted or needed in this world. Most parents only do this because they believe that the child is feeling sorry for themselves and not because that whatever is happening around them is hurting them emotionally. Repressing these feelings is not good. If you show your feelings is shows how brave you really are. Repression can lead to worse mental issues later on in life, for example depression or anxiety. But no matter what, crying is a good thing, and do not be afraid to tell anyone who thinks otherwise.

Some parents feel they are doing the right thing by toughening up their kids. This doesn't help at all of course, but I think while it's far from being a good thing, it is forgiveable.