Jealous or Insecure Child

 



You and your child at home....a very comfortable atmosphere...there is Mom's complete attention, with no competition, no threat...you are so confident that your child will be the best child in Town when you visit your friends or relatives abroad or in another city. A day or two after you reach there, things still look the same and greener. But as days go by, your child settles and notices that your attention is being diverted and not being dedicated. Thats when the worry begins. Your child maynot be able to express all these complicated feelings but the fact is, however kind and friendly your child is, soon as he/she notices another child grabbing your interest and attention, the child feels insecure and gets hurt. All these feelings meddle with eachother and the next day, the nagging, taunting starts and finally your child attacks the other child by hitting, biting, pushing etc....

We cant find fault with our children, we just have to cope with it, make sure the other child doesnot get hurt, keep an eye on them everytime they are together, day by day we have to gently explain to the child that Mom and Dad are still his/her Best friends and that they are only being good to the other child, that they havenot forgotten to care for their own child. Simultaneously, we have to observe and analyse what makes our child irate and feel jealous. Once that is known, we have to slowly build and make things better. And things can be made better, depending on the age of the child, as their understanding levels are different too.

Sametime, we cant let our children feel jealous everytime they mingle with other kids...they need friends and company too. This should not repeat with siblings....and so working on every behavioural aspect of our children is crucial...Jealousy and insecurity are things to be not existing in our lives, specially during a child's developmental stages.


- Prathyusha Talluri