On Our Blog:Child Psychology/Mental Health
Information, research & practical guides for parents on various mental disorders found in children and adolescents. Also provides information on promoting healthy psychosocial development in kids and teens.
Understanding your child is one of the most important things that you should learn as a parent. It is very helpful in becoming effective in guiding and nurturing your child as they grow and mature. You need to bear in mind that your child has a unique personality trait that remains consistent throughout life.
One of the ways you can understand your child is by observing them as they sleep, eat, or play. Look for the consistent traits. Which activities do they like best? Is adjusting to changes easy for them or do they need time to become familiar with these things? These things are the normal characteristics of a child and your child may not be an exception.
As much as possible, have time to talk to your children as this is crucial to gaining information and understanding. In the case of young children, they require less verbal language and more facial expression and body language in order to understand their thoughts and feelings. Asking them questions will allow them to share their feelings to you.
Self-esteem is a major key to success in life. The development of a positive self-concept or healthy self-esteem is extremely important to the happiness and success of children and teenagers. A positive parent-child relationship provides the framework and support for a child to develop a healthy respect and regard for self and for others. Children crave time with parents. It makes them feel special. Parents are encouraged to find time to spend playing with their kids on a regular basis. This should include one to one with each child and group time with all of the adults and kids in the home. If you are a single parent or have an only child, occasionally invite family or friends over to play.
For one reason or another, some children do not develop social skills as easily as others. They may earnestly seek peer relationships and then, having endured rebuffs, if not downright cruelty, retreat to the safety of home, family, and their own company. There is probably nothing so painful for a parent as the rejection of his child. Parents need to take the long view of social problems and to map out a plan to solve them quite as carefully and thoughtfully as they would consider academic or health problems. There are guidelines which. if followed, will help these children if the parent is willing to take time and initiative.
Most parents will encounter a few bumps in the road as their child moves from baby to teen to adult. The Child Psychology section provides guidelines and referrals to trusted resources for such problems as
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – ADHD, Anxiety, Autism/Aspergers, Bedwetting, Depression,
Oppositional Defiant Disorder – ODD, Shyness and more.
News & Research Related to Child Psychology & Mental Health
[Click Here For Additional Articles]
Feature Article
Oppositional Defiant Disorder All children have the capacity to assert their opinion and do so to varying degrees of intensity. This trait can be wonderful when the child is agreeable and articulate; it can be excruciating when he or she has a tendency towards very strong, negative opinions. How a child manifests his or her needs, wants, likes, and dislikes is governed by a complex set of factors that is still not clearly understood on a biological level.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder is a childhood psychiatric disorder that affects 6 to 10% of children. Since all children have moments or periods of time when they are more argumentative, sullen, or disagreeable, the diagnosis of Oppositional Defiant Disorder needs to be made carefully and symptoms need to be present for a consistent period of time and over various settings. More —->
PDF 
