Haya and Amaan

Our children are a responsibility given to us from God. We as parents are responsible for their well being and also, to an extent, of the person they will become one day. It is said that a lot of mental health issues which we deal with in our adulthood, are linked to how we were treated as a child. Hence, its essential today that we fulfill the needs of a child so they grow into strong individuals. Individuals who grow up without having the need to heal from trauma once they have grown up.

Emotional needs

A human needs warmth. Human touch help us calm down. Children also need warmth. It is shown that kids who are regularly given hugs, showed affection are calmer and have less behaviour problems compared to those who weren’t.

Trust the child. Often we dont validate a child’s feeling enough. Telling them to stop being a kid, when they are having a meltdown for example, will only teach them to not express their feelings and emotions. Rather than teaching them how to deal with those big emotions we just invalidate their feelings.

Praise is one more thing which needs to be eliminated. Constant praise is turning our children in to praise junkies. Eventually, they start working to be praised and get dissappointed when they dont get it. Instead of praising a child on something that God given, we should acknowledge their efforts and hardwork.

Respect the child just like you would respect any other human. Often a child is a prey to an adults emotions. This can shatter their self respect and confidence.

One should be careful of the labels we give to our child. Calling a child shy or naughty for example, validates the words and they become that. It becomes part of their thoughts.

One should keep in mind that our thoughts become our words, words becomes our actions, which becomes our character amd that becomes part of our destiny.

Coming up, will be what other needs a child has in order to grow up to be strong individuals.