PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS:

LOVE AND AFFECTION:

 A gentle cuddle and a little encouragement, appreciation, approval or even a smile can go a long way to
boost the confidence and well-being of your children. Sadly many children seek this kind of acceptance
from their peers.
 Tell them you love them every day.
 Give lots of hugs and some kisses.
 Love them unconditionally, don’t force them to be who you think they should be in order to earn your
love. Let them know that you will always love them no matter what praise your children.
 Lastly, love your children more than anything. Without love them, it means nothing whatever you do in
your life. And understand whenever your child or not, somehow deep in your child’s heart, they will
love you forever whenever they are loved or not.
 Show affection.
 Some men may be uncomfortable with offering their children affection and communicating their love.
Being affectionate with your child shows them that you love them.
 Always praise your children for good behavior.

RELATIONSHIP AND COMMUNICATION:

o Listen to them.
o Express interest in your children and involve yourself in his / her life.
o Create an atmosphere in which they can come to you with a problem however large or small.
o Spend lots of time with your child and love them with all your heart.
o Spend time with each child individually, try to divide your time equally if you have more than one child.
o Spend quality time with your child.
o Your children need your full attention on a regular basis.
o Remember to listen to your children.
o Better communication always leads to better parenting.

DISCIPLINE:

STEPS:

 Discuss and define your discipline strategy with your partner in a time of calm.
 Recognize when a discipline situation is necessary.
 Be consistent.
 Never give into bad habits, especially temper tantrums.
 When the disciplinary action is completed, review and remind them why they got into trouble and why it
was wrong.
 Review your discipline methods periodically.
 Trust your child to make the decision between any bad behavior and the consequence.
 Always praise for good behavior.
 Guide your child through the problem solving process if they need help with their homework. This way
they’ll learn how doing it on their own and won't become dependent on you.

PARENTAL ROLE MODEL:

 Eliminate bad habits.

 Give up your voices, Gambling, alcohol and drugs can jeopardize your child’s financial security.
Smoking, for example, almost introduces health hazards to your child’s environment.
 Second hand smoke has been linked to several respiratory ailments in children. It could also contribute to
the early death of a parent.
 Alcohol and drug might also introduce health hazards or violence to your child’s environment.
 If you are trying to quit a habit yourself, look into groups that can help you overcome it. Always get
support, and have someone you can talk to when you begin to get a craving for your habit.
 Remember that you are not only helping yourself but you are helping your child as well.
 Always have a positive attitude or outlook in life.
 Think of yourself as a role model.
 Surround your home and life with others who can serve as role models for your children. Whether these
family members or friends, keeping your kids around people who are a good influence will help you a
better parent.
 Avoid conflict in front of your children.
BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS:

 Some children seem to get through childhood without many problems at all and others seem to have an
unusual amount of difficulty.
 Parents are often puzzled as to why their children do not behave or listen while their friend's children
seem to be perfect angels. Some of the most common behavioral problems in children include temper
tantrums, not following directions, whining, fighting with siblings or other children, breaking rules and
talking back.
 Fortunately there is hope in dealing with everyday discipline problems using methods that are effective
and easy to learn.

TEMPER TANTRUM:

o Remain calm enough to handle the tantrum properly.

o Offer your child a choice of coping strategies.
o Stem your own rising frustration level.
o Try to determine the cause of the tantrum.
o Do not reward the tantrum.
o Take steps to prevent injury.
o Explain to the child that you will talk to him or her when he or she calms down.
o Avoid trying to reason with any child who is in the middle of a full-blown tantrum especially in a public
place.
o Discuss the behavior with your child once the tantrum has ended.
o Do not discipline physically by smacking your child.

STEPS TO PREVENT TEMPER TANTRUM:

 Maintain daily routines.

 Prepare your child for changes.
 Be firm.
 Give your child’s choice.
 Pay attention.

BED WETTING:

 While most children are potty trained by the time they are three to four years old, wetting the bed at
night (nocturnal enuresis) is still a common problem for many six to eight year old children (affecting
about 8% of eight year olds).
 It is more common in boys and in families in which one or both parents wet the bed as a child.

STEPS TO PREVENT BED WETTING:

 Reassure your child that this is normal at this age and not his fault and understand that he is not doing it
on purpose.
 Do not punish or blame your child for wetting the bed and make sure that other family members do not
tease him about it.
 Avoid letting your child drink large amounts of fluid two hours before bedtime.
 Have your child use the toilet just before going to bed.
 Protect the bed with a plastic cover between the sheets and mattress.

NIGHT WALK:

Consider practicing an awakening routine, in which you wake your child to urinate two to three hours after he
goes to bed, either at the parent's bedtime or after setting an alarm clock.

 Be patient- this is a persistent and frustrating problem, but one that will surely resolve as your child gets
older.
 Call your pediatrician if your chils is also wetting himself during the day, complaints of burning during
urination, is losing weight, has blood in his urine, or if the problem is affecting your child’s self esteem.
  Preschool age children may have sleep problems, including trouble getting to sleep, frequent night
waking in the middle of the night and having irregular sleep patterns.
 Remember that there is no definite right or wrong ways to put your child to sleep and that if you and
your child are happy with your current routine then you should stick to it.
 However, it is not good if it is a struggle to put your child to bed, if she gets overly frustrated in the
process, strongly resists being put to bed or if she is waking up so much that she or other family
members end up not getting adequate sleep.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES:

 Once your child has been put to bed, you should be strict about the rule of not leaving the bedroom.
 If she does get up and comes out, quickly return her to her room and remind her that she has to sleep in
her own bed.
 Ignore all protests or requests and keep your interactions with her to a minimum (no bedtime hug or kiss
this time).
 If she continues to leave the room you can warn her that you will have to close the door. You should
follow up on this warning if she keeps leaving the room.
 You can stand outside the door and let her know that you will open the door again if she gets back in bed
and stays there.You should also consider closing the bedroom door if she continues to cry or protest
going back to bed.
 Again, let her know that you will open it again if she quitely goes back to bed. You may need to lock the
door if she is able to open the door and continues to come out.
 This is a necessary step to make sure that your child does not hurt herself while she is awake and able to
wander around the house.
 You should not feel guilty about letting your child cry or locking their bedroom door.
 Children usually have bedtime problems because they are trying to test your limits or because of poor
sleep habits.
 Rarely are these problems caused by real fears, but you should comfort and reassure your child if she is
truely afraid.

SELFISHNESS:

 Children are not born with the ability to share with others what is theirs. Slowly they learn the joy of
giving and of sharing with others.
 Development of a sense of ownership is necessary before they can learn to be generous with others.
 Adults can help children learn to share with others if they let them have possession which all recognize
as theirs.
 Children should allowed to decide whether to give or refuse to give their toys to other children.
 Group play encourages the habit of sharing.
 Children learn that using things together is fun and then to share and take turns with their toys and of
other children.

HURTING OTHERS:

 Small children hurt others and are themselves hurt when they play together. If the hurting is an accident,
the incident should be overlooked.
 But if children persistently try to hurt others, adult help in needed to prevent serious injury. Children
repeatedly want to hurt others by biting, scratching, pulling hair or hitting are troubled children.
 They need to know that someone who loves them deeply will control them and so prevent the unpleasant
consequences of their behavior.
 The adult should take positive actions in situations in which children are likely to hurt others.

DESTRUCTIVENESS:

 All children occasionally break things.

 Parents must learn to differentiate between accidental and intentional destruction of objects that they
may value highly.
 Much of children's accidental destructiveness is the result of boundless energy and endless curiosity.
 To avoid accidental destruction at home, parents should remove valuable objects that the child might
break or damage.
 Toys are often given for rough use. Destructive children are usually unhappy children unable to control
their feelings of jealousy, aggression or anger.

With those children parents should avoid scolding and punishing.

REFERENCES:

1. Anlene H. (1998) What Is Expecting The Children Year. The journal of Pediatric Nursing 11(5) Pp 34, 43.
2. Arnold E.H. & O’Leary S.G. (1997) Mothers’ and fathers’ Discipline of Hard-to- Manage Toddlers, Child &
Family Behavior Therapy, American Journal of Nursing 103, Pp 12.
3. Backett K.C. (1982) Mothers and fathers: “The development and negotiation of parental behavior”. Nursing
Journal (10) Pp 12.
4. Bandura A. (1977) Social learning theory. Canadian Journal of Discipline (103), Pp 12.
5. Baumrind, D. (1966). “Effects of authoritative parental control on child behavior”, Child Development,
International Journal of Discipline,Pp 88.
6. Baumrind, D. (1996). “The discipline controversy revisited” International Journal of Discipline,Pp 40-42.
7. Kelly The Portable Pediatrician for parentsNewyork Harper Wllies Publishers, Pp 42,73.
8. Marsiglio W. Fatherhood: Contemporary Theory, Research and Social Policy. Research on Men and
Masculinities, Vol. 7. Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications, Pp 72.
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