The Gift of Criticism?

How would you handle this situation.  This past weekend, I was selling my Jewelry at an Art Show.  My Husband and my 2 year old son, participated in this show with me.  It was the end of the show, and everyone was packing up.  In awe of the open space we now had in front and around my booth my son decided to line up the chairs as if he was playing musical chairs.  He was sliding on the floor, and cleaning up paper on the floor.   I thought this was very hilarious but I was also cautious to the fact that all though all of the vendors were Adults, but I don't know these people, and wasn't sure if they would be as cautious towards running over my son.  So in order to prevent me cursing out someone that has hurt my child, I called him over to my booth to color.  My neighbor then proceeded to tell me,  "as good as he's been all day, I would let him play."  I also was given another comment of criticism.

Let me tell you all that it was incredibly hard not to give this neighbor a few unkind words, but instead I took my anger out on my defenseless Husband. 

So why do people criticize? It depends on the person and situation, experts say.


Sometimes it's about being aggravated and irritated, but criticism often reflects more about the criticizer than the person being criticized.  It can also be about a lack of self-knowledge and self-esteem. It's a whole lot easier to focus on someone else's mistakes and misgivings than it is to work on what you could do differently for yourself.

How you react to criticism depends on a variety of factors, including who's making the comment, your relationship with that person and what's said. It also depends on your mood. If you've had a really bad day and your boss yelled at you and you're late and then someone criticizes you, you're not in a good place to start with.

How do you deal with constructive, negative criticism?  How thin skinned are you?