Is your Child Emotionally Healthy?

Parents must provide many opportunities for basic, health and emotional attitudes to develop. The child grows in different stages and becomes more and more independent based on the foundation set.

Different age groups come with different experiences for the children. However it is important to instill in children a sense of trust, self-worth, confidence, creativity and ability to be a self starter.

What are the hall marks of an emotionally healthy child? Joanne Hendrick, in her book ‘The Whole Child’ has listed seven traits that determine weather a child-is emotionally healthy or not:

Is your child working on emotional tasks that are appropriate for his health?
The child should be able to choose what activities interest them. They should generate their own ideas with zest and enthusiasm and achieve independence of some sort. However there are those children who will need help to venture forth. This is done by taking time to build a foundation of trust between the child and the parent, and helping the child advance to increase confidence and independence—as her confidence grows.

Is the child learning to separate from her family without undue stress? Is he able to form an attachment with another adult or forge friendships in nursery school?
It is natural for young children to feel anxious when their parents or guardians leave them at school. This feeling, called separation anxiety, is manifested strongest between the ages of 10 and 24 months. Further research shows that by the time children are four years and older, many can adjust rapidly to a school situation without their parents having to linger. There are exceptions though with some three year olds, and some retarded children (Kessler et al.; 1968). Shy children have a tendency to make friends with the teacher before they make friends with other children. The teacher should therefore encourage the child to venture and explore new experiences with other youngsters.

Is the child learning to conform to routine at school without undue fuss?
Two, four and five year olds particularly demonstrate assertiveness when it comes to conformity. This is healthy to some extent. However consistent refusal to conform to routine especially so in school should be regarded as a warning sign that the child needs help working through his rebellious behaviour.

Is your child able to involve himself deeply in play?
The ability to enjoy participating in play alone or with other children is very important for children. It contributes not only to emotional health but to maintaining mental health as well. It is however sad to note that severely disturbed children cannot give themselves up to the experience of satisfying play.

Is he developing the ability to settle down and concentrate?
All children exhibit distractions and restlessness including excitement, boredom, and the need to go to the toilet; fatigue, or the need to go back home are also some behavioural signs that make a child not pay attention to what is at hand. But occasionally there are those children who never seem to settle down and only give surface attention to what the teacher is doing. Such behaviour could be caused by anxiety or tension, mostly linked to maternal depression. If this is the case, counselling for both mother and child may be desirable.

Is your child unusually withdrawn or aggressive for his age?
Overly withdrawn or aggressive behaviour should be a signal that your little one is out of balance and needs some extra treatment and care. Any behaviour varying from the norm signifies that all is not well with your little one.

Does your child have access to his full range of feelings and is he learning to deal with them in an age-appropriate way?
Healthy children should learn during their formative years to express their feelings. One should direct his feelings to the source—that is, to the person who has caused the ill feelings. This way, chances of one harming themselves or others are avoided. Learning to do this successfully takes a long time but has its roots formed in early childhood.

END: BL24/6