RELATIONSHIP WITH CHILDREN
Relationships provide an excellent opportunity for children to learn how to think, understand, communicate, behave, express emotions and develop social skills. Loving, stable, and responsive relationships are fundamental to your child’s development. Relationships give the child a practice ground for developing various important life skills.
The most important relationship to a child is the one they develop with their parents. Children learn about the world around them through a positive parent-child relationship. Children observe their parents and determine whether or not they are safe, secure, and loved. Playing with your child strengthens your relationship and encourages your child to explore, observe, experiment, and solve problems. Children see the world through their relationships and shape up their understanding of it accordingly. Through relationships with parents, other family members, friends, and others around, children learn about their world.
There is no pill to instill relationships in children. It takes a slow, laborious process of interactions and doing small things together that helps a child build his acceptance about relationships. A few things worth keeping in mind are:
- Be present for your child: not just physically but also in your being. Syncing up actions with him not only affirms to your child that you care but also gives you the opportunity to understand him. It becomes the basis for a strong relationship.
- Accept that he is still a child: don’t get too bothered to correct him all the time. Sometimes just go with the flow.
- Be encouraging: your child puts a lot of effort and creativity into things he does. Make sure to appreciate it and let him know about it too.
- Listen and observe: children are still learning to communicate affirmatively. But, they do give a lot of signs and patterns, that shall help you understand your child better.
- Allow him to lead: make him make decisions. Support his ideas and use conversations to lead your child to make the right choices.
- Spend quality time with your child: many times parents are guilty of being with the child but lost elsewhere in their thoughts. This could make the child feel being ignored. Repeat and rephrase his words, smile often and keep eye contact. This builds an immense sense of security and confidence in him.
- Eat meals together, play together: Such interactions help the child the most to learn and develop.
- Build trust and respect: be available when your child needs you. Value them for who they are and never compare.
- Accept that relationship will need to evolve as the child grows and be willing to give him his space adequately.
- Have boundaries, rules & consequences: provide your children with structure and guidance. Talk to your children about what you expect of them and make sure they understand.
everything in life and make decisions accordingly.