Dealing with Insecurity in Children

Your child plays well with friends of older age and of the same age...you thought your child is a friendly-natured person, and that he/she will make you proud when others tell you that your child plays well with other children, with no toy wars. As long as your child was meeting the same old friends, he/she got used to, it was pretty fine...but things changed when you brought your little one to a different city or to your family abroad, and there they meet the younger cousins.....the first few days go smoothly, you all will be so mesmerised to see the love and bonding between the kids...but one fine day, the elder cousin hits the younger and the tension kicks off. Day by day, they become adamant, if the younger cousin is a toddler, he/she will retaliate and the fight begins. They even bite eachother, they push eachother...what not...leave aside spending happy moments with family, one of you has to sit watching over the kids, every minute. Turn to others and things will worsen here, such busy will the kids keep you. You may find yourselves disappointed by your child for hitting and biting the other little one so often, you will sit frustrated and irate with the situation, thinking you have become a Mom who shouts and scolds her own child so often. Where did it go wrong?

We as  new and first time parents may not expect this strange behaviour in our toddlers and 3 yr olds, but it is obvious when they find someone younger, grabbing more attention from all. They feel so insecure when everyone around pays more attention to the younger sibling or younger cousin. Specially, when they find their own parents caring for the younger one, its even worse. That feeling of not-cared-for forces the innocent child to hurt the younger sibling or cousin. You cant find fault with them...make sure to treat both equally, not giving instructions to the elder one always such as 'dont touch him', 'dont take her toys', 'be careful', 'why did you snatch his treats' etc....and always make sure to introduce children of every playful age to your child inorder to make them aware of how to deal with other kids, this will prepare your child for a younger sibling or a memorable sweet time with a younger cousin.

- Prathyusha Talluri