Thankfulness is the Beginning of Happiness A simple way that you can foster great social and emotional wellbeing in your child from now right up to adulthood.
By Dr Brooklyn Storme
A
t the practice, I am consulted by many parents for assistance and guidance on how to cope with their child’s behaviour. Recently, a couple came to see me for just this reason. Their nine-year-old child was demanding on their time, attention and resources and developed behaviours that were very much unwanted by the family and by the primary school. These behaviours included tantrums, back-chatting, door slamming and fairly frequent exclamations of ‘I’m running away’. Needless to say, poor mum and dad were at a loss. They themselves presented as anxious, depressed, exhausted and desperate for help.
Working with the family over time, it was revealed that *Mikayla’s behaviour commenced in response to her not getting her own way. In the beginning, she’d ask for something and being such loving parents who didn’t want their child to go without and who wanted to give their child ‘everything’, what soon developed was an expectation in Mikayla that she could have everything. It became very hard for her to hear the word ‘no’. As parents, it’s very natural to want to be, do and give the best of everything to children. And for this reason, it can also be very helpful to teach children about gratitude and I’ll explain why. Because of their age and developmental stage, most children are ego-centric. That’s not a bad thing; it simply means that they see things from their own perspective. It’s their wants, their needs, on their terms and often; immediate gratification is the preference! By teaching children about gratitude, they learn how to think beyond this bubble and learn to look at the world around them. They learn how to develop very important soft skills like empathy and understanding. continued next page.....
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Peninsula Kids – Winter 2018