An important part of a child’s development is to achieve control over his passage of urine and stool. From birth till the age of one and a half-year, the child passes both urine and stool involuntarily in his diapers. Only after that is some sort of control achieved. Culturally, human beings, as opposed to animals, are supposed to pass urine and stool in the toilet. We associate it with a sense of cleanliness.
Continue reading Child Care: True Toilet Vs Conditioned Toilet Training
❖ Up to 1 year (infancy stage): The key issue is formation of a strong emotional bond between the child and parents.
Continue reading Child Care: Child Psychology and Associated Problems
The child is unable to control urine voiding, usually during nightime. A neonate is a natural enuretic and only by the age of 2-3 years is the child able to have some degree of mastery over his voiding of urine. As the child masters it, he gets up at night whenever he has the urge to pass urine and tells his parents. Such a child, by and large, is day and night-time dry and only occasionally, he may pass urine in his pants e.g. when he is too busy playing or when he is in a deep sleep. Such rare occasions are normal and the child should not be made conscious of it or scolded or made to feel guilty.
Continue reading Child Care: How to Cure Bed-Wetting in Children
It depends upon the following three important aspects:
1. Anatomical readiness: During the first year, the muscles of the lower half of the body including the muscles that control the sphincters of the bladder and bowel are yet not fully under the control of the nervous system. It is obvious that firstly, the child should gain neurological control over the muscles used for controlling defecation and urination, before he can be toilet trained. When this full neurological control comes differs from child to child. A similar analogy exists for walking also. As mentioned in another chapter (“Growth and Development”), the age at which a child starts walking differs from child to child.
Continue reading Child Care: When are Children Ready for Toilet Training?
• Feeling of guilt: In many situations, parents may feel guilty regarding child-rearing. Common instances are when the mother is a working woman, the baby has some handicap, the child is an adopted one, there is preference for one child over other etc. Whatever the reason for guilt, it acts as a stumbling block in disciplining the child, as the parents expect too little from the child and too much from themselves.
It is divided for simplification into 4 age groups: infancy (up to 1 year); toddler (1-3 years); preschool (3-6 years); and school going (more than 6 years). The psychological development in these groups is discussed below one by one.
Continue reading Child Care: Normal Psychological Development of a Child
1. Corporal punishment: The term discipline while frequently used to mean some sort of punishment actually is derived from the word “disciple” which means to teach. By complimenting good behaviour, and setting consistent and appropriate limits for unwanted traits, the child is made to distinguish between the desirable and the undesirable, the good and the bad. Punishment, when necessary, should be age appropriate and not psychologically destructive to the child. Corporal punishment is not only less effective than positive reinforcement, but also potentially harmful. It teaches a child that physical aggression is an acceptable way of dealing with anger. In the long run, it makes them insolent and rowdy.
Fatigue: If the child is tired after too much stimulation and play, he seeks rest, just like an adult. Adults usually will pursue some hobby like reading a magazine, watching T.V. etc. or will go to bed for rest. A child unfortunately is too small to have hobbies as a means of recreation and tension outlet. Plus sleeping is the last thing that is in his mind. Therefore, he craves for parental attention and love when tired. So it is the duty of parents to hug and cuddle the child and make him feel relaxed, after which he can be gently hilled to sleep.
Continue reading Child Care: Factors Exaggerating Behavioral Problems in Children
1. Verbal or non-verbal expression of disapproval: It is an effective means of punishment for all age groups. Verbal disapproval is more effective when combined with positive instructions on appropriate behaviour. Another important concept of discipline is that the focus should be on the misbehaviour which should be pointed out to the child as undesirable; and not on belittling or humiliating the child.
“Mirror” writing
Many children, during the initial few months of learning to write, often confuse words while writing and so may write “b” for “d”, “P” for “p” etc. This decreases with time and is no cause for concern. However if the problem is persistent, and the child seemingly cannot understand that he is making a mistake, it may be one of the indicators of a non-benign problem called as “Dyslexia” for which medical help should be sought.