Handling A Selfish Child
How would you feel if your four-year-old daughter pulled the baby from your laps and begged you to leave the baby and carry her instead?
How would you feel if your four-year-old daughter pulled the baby from your laps and begged you to leave the baby and carry her instead?
I guess you would feel torn between the two. Apportioning your love to both children might put your parenting skills and ability to a real test.
From the day a child is born, he/she becomes the centre of attention and takes full advantage of this position. The arrival of another child into the family is real a disaster to the existing child. The new child is regarded as an intruder. This triggers a serious sibling rivalry marked by selfishness.
All children desire equality and fairness. They hate favouritism either in school or in their homes. every child becomes selfish at a certain stage in life. How fast your child outgrows this feeling depends on his/her ability to interact with others.
Selfishness is therefore a normal part of child development. The question is how you respond or handle it.
Psychologists say that the way a child gets along with brothers and sisters largely determines how well he/she will get along with other people in life. The following tips would help you handle selfishness in your child:
lIndividualism is at the root of selfishness. Since sharing is part of socialisation, a selfish child has probably not acquired social skills. The bonds of selfishness are broken as soon as the child recognises the ‘we’ factor or learns to value the interests of others.
Friendship formation skill is an essential remedy against selfishness.
lThe best lessons which remain with your child for life, are derived from your examples. Always do things together as a family. Divide a piece of biscuit to serve your two rivalling children. This trains your children the value of sharing. A child who learns to share at home will share for life.
lselfishness in adulthood has its roots in early childhood. Your role is to train your child both by example and by word. Explain to the child that in life we are not at the same level yet we are all human beings.
lAlthough selfishness begins at personal level it might extend and affect your child in the classroom. There are children who perceive knowledge as a private ‘property,’ which cannot be shared with other children. Learning is a shared experience and no child should try to privatise it.
Like teaching, parenting demands creativity in handling day-to-day challenges.
jamesawagwau@yahoo.com 077631032
1
rivalling children. This trains your children the value of sharing. A child who learns to share at home will share for life.
lselfishness in adulthood has its roots in early childhood. Your role is to train your child both by example and by word. Explain to the child that in life we are not at the same level yet we are all human beings.
lAlthough selfishness begins at personal level it might extend and affect your child in the classroom. There are children who perceive knowledge as a private ‘property,’ which cannot be shared with other children. Learning is a shared experience and any child who attempts to ‘privatise’ knowledge loses and fails. A story is told of how a wise mother solved the problem of selfishness between her children. Every time she cut the cake, each of her two boys always wanted the largest share. She then hatched up a plan, which worked wonders. She allowed the older boy to cut the cake and told the younger to take the first choice. This taught both of them how to be fair with each other. Parenting like classroom teaching, demands creativity in handling day-to-day challenges. There is however, no alternative to training and being personally involved in your child’s life.
jamesawagwau@yahoo.com
I guess you would feel torn between the two. Apportioning your love to both children might put your parenting skills and ability to a real test.
From the day a child is born, he/she becomes the centre of attention and takes full advantage of this position. The arrival of another child into the family is real a disaster to the existing child. The new child is regarded as an intruder. This triggers a serious sibling rivalry marked by selfishness.
All children desire equality and fairness. They hate favouritism either in school or in their homes. every child becomes selfish at a certain stage in life. How fast your child outgrows this feeling depends on his/her ability to interact with others.
Selfishness is therefore a normal part of child development. The question is how you respond or handle it.
Psychologists say that the way a child gets along with brothers and sisters largely determines how well he/she will get along with other people in life. The following tips would help you handle selfishness in your child:
lIndividualism is at the root of selfishness. Since sharing is part of socialisation, a selfish child has probably not acquired social skills. The bonds of selfishness are broken as soon as the child recognises the ‘we’ factor or learns to value the interests of others.
Friendship formation skill is an essential remedy against selfishness.
lThe best lessons which remain with your child for life, are derived from your examples. Always do things together as a family. Divide a piece of biscuit to serve your two rivalling children. This trains your children the value of sharing. A child who learns to share at home will share for life.
lselfishness in adulthood has its roots in early childhood. Your role is to train your child both by example and by word. Explain to the child that in life we are not at the same level yet we are all human beings.
lAlthough selfishness begins at personal level it might extend and affect your child in the classroom. There are children who perceive knowledge as a private ‘property,’ which cannot be shared with other children. Learning is a shared experience and no child should try to privatise it.
Like teaching, parenting demands creativity in handling day-to-day challenges.
jamesawagwau@yahoo.com 077631032
1
rivalling children. This trains your children the value of sharing. A child who learns to share at home will share for life.
lselfishness in adulthood has its roots in early childhood. Your role is to train your child both by example and by word. Explain to the child that in life we are not at the same level yet we are all human beings.
lAlthough selfishness begins at personal level it might extend and affect your child in the classroom. There are children who perceive knowledge as a private ‘property,’ which cannot be shared with other children. Learning is a shared experience and any child who attempts to ‘privatise’ knowledge loses and fails. A story is told of how a wise mother solved the problem of selfishness between her children. Every time she cut the cake, each of her two boys always wanted the largest share. She then hatched up a plan, which worked wonders. She allowed the older boy to cut the cake and told the younger to take the first choice. This taught both of them how to be fair with each other. Parenting like classroom teaching, demands creativity in handling day-to-day challenges. There is however, no alternative to training and being personally involved in your child’s life.
jamesawagwau@yahoo.com