Behaviour Problems

Child Behaviour  Problems

In today’s society, children face countless situations that can have a negative effect on their social–emotional and academic development and ultimately on their happiness in life. Many societies consider delinquency, violence, drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, and early patterns of sexual behaviour that risk sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy among never married teenagers to be serious problems.

Common reasons for engaging in problem behaviour are:

1. To get attention (positive or negative)

2. To get an activity, toy, or item

3. To escape or avoid an activity or task

4. Due to physical or medical conditions

In simple terms, social and emotional learning (SEL) is the capacity to recognize and manage emotions, solve problems effectively, and establish positive relationships with others, competencies that clearly are essential for all students. Thus, SEL targets a combination of behaviours, cognitions, and emotions.

 Describe these common features in the principles of effective prevention-

1.Prevention efforts should begin with prenatal care and continue throughout the school years

2. Provide positive consequences to increase desirable behaviours

3. Clear, immediate, mild negative consequences can reduce problem behaviours

4.Create opportunities for children to observe and practice interpersonal as well as academic skills

5. Know where children and adolescents are, what they are doing and with whom, and provide appropriate supervision

6. Reduce youths’ access to the situations in which problem behaviour is particularly likely to occur

7. Reduce children’s exposure to negative conditions that cause stress

8. Encourage good biological functioning throughout development

9. Reducing aggressive behaviour among young children can prevent many problems later on

10. Establishing strong, clear norms for behaviour can influence youths’ behaviour

Key Components of Effective SEL: Five key competencies are taught, practiced, and reinforced through SEL programming (CASEL, 2003):

A.Self-awareness—Identification and recognition of one’s own emotions, recognition of strengths in self and others, sense of self-efficacy, and self-confidence.

B.  Social awareness—Empathy, respect for others, and perspective taking.

C.Responsible decision making—Evaluation and reflection, and personal and ethical responsibility.

D.Self-management—Impulse control, stress management, persistence, goal setting, and motivation.

E. Relationship skills—Cooperation, help seeking and providing, and communication.

      

        Dr.Shweta singh

         Guest Lecturer,

         Dpt of Applied Psychology,

        V.B.S.Purvanchal University

        Jaunpur,U.P.,INDIA 

        shweta_opsingh@rediffmail.com

Anxiety in children

HANDLE CHILDREN ANXIETY 

·         Encourage your child to discuss his/her fears with you. Children, who are encouraged to talk about their concerns and feelings, will feel comforted and less alone. By listening to your child, you may also discover what the underlying problem is and therefore find ways to help. Suggest that your child write a story or draw a picture of scary things, and look for clues to help you understand his fears better.

·         Reassure and comfort your child. Children need lots of hugs and assurance that they are safe and understood. It is important to acknowledge their fears as being real to them and not trivialize their feelings. What children fear may seem silly to you, but that doesn’t make the emotion any less real.

·         Watch out for your own anxieties and worries. In some cases, anxiety is a learnt response and children may be picking up on your tensions. You are your child’s best model for behavior!

·   Teach your child relaxation techniques like deep breathing during anxious moments, counting to 10 or self-soothing statements. These methods can help to empower your child and will provide the inner confidence needed to overcome the fears.

·       Routines and plenty of warning before change can go a long way to making your child feel more secure and less anxious. Explain new situations in advance in a simple, friendly manner. (Try role playing to prepare for upcoming situations)

·      Remind your child of old fears that they overcame. This will provide the courage and confidence to face current fears. Always praise children’s efforts and successes when they do confront these anxieties.

·         Do not accommodate your child’s fears. If your child fears something, don’t purposefully avoid it as this will reinforce the need for escape and confirm the ‘reality’ of the danger. However, DO reassure your child and try to help him or her through the situation successfully.

·        Don’t dismiss feelings. Telling your child not to worry about her fears may only make her feel like she’s doing something wrong by feeling anxious. Let her know its okay to feel bad about something, and encourage her to share her emotions and thoughts.

· Listen. You know how enormously comforting it can be just to have someone listen when something’s bothering you. Do the same thing for your child. If he doesn’t feel like talking, let him know you are there for him. Just be by his side and remind him that you love him and support him.

·  Offer comfort and distraction. Try to do something she enjoys, like playing a favorite game or cuddling in your lap and having you read to her, just as you did when she was younger. When the chips are down, even a 10-year-old will appreciate a good dose of parent TLC.

· Keep your child healthy. Make sure he’s eating right and getting enough sleep. Not getting enough rest or eating nutritious meals at regular intervals can contribute to your child’s stress. If he feels good, he’ll be better equipped to work through whatever is bothering him.

·Avoid overscheduling. Soccer, karate, baseball, music lessons, play dates the list of extracurricular activities kids can take on is endless. But too many activities can easily lead to stress and anxiety in children. Just as grownups need some downtime after work and on weekends, children also need some quiet time alone to decompress.

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·         Consult a counselor or your pediatrician. If you suspect that a change in the family such as a new sibling, a move, divorce, or a death of a family member is behind your child's stress and anxiety, seek advice from an expert such as your child's school counselor, your pediatrician, or a child therapist. They can suggest ways to help a child talk about death, for instance, or help him through any other shift in the family.

·         Set a calm example. You can set the tone for how stress and anxiety in children and adults is handled in your house. It's virtually impossible to block out stress from our lives in today's high-tech, 24-hour-news-cycle world, but you can do something about how you handle your own stress. And the more you are able to keep things calm and peaceful at home, the less likely it is that anxiety in children will be a problem in your household

 THANKS 

By: Lubna Mehmood

           Counselling Psychologist

        Meerut U.P (INDIA)