Good familial relationships are integral to a child’s development. Strong families provide a safe space for a child’s growth, allowing them to feel loved and secure. Family is a child’s primary social group, therefore having the greatest influence on the upbringing of the child.
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Here, I will be sharing how a family influences three key aspects of the child’s development.
Social Skills
Families provide a model for children as they begin to discover and learn how to build relationships with others. With family being the child’s primary social group, the child will first experience and observe how family members around them communicate and act. With the idea of relationships formed in their heads, they go on to explore and establish new relationships with other people like their teachers and peers.
Therefore it is important to have a happy family with strong bonds forged among family members, to give a positive outlook of social interactions. By creating a healthy family culture such as spending quality time individually with one another and as a whole, it helps to foster healthy social development in the child.
With strong familial support, the child will have more confidence to explore and try new things, knowing that they have someone they can go to for help and support when they encounter challenges or setbacks. A warm and secure relationship among members of the family is an important factor in the development of a happy child and a more emotionally stable one.
Values
Too Young?
There’s also that value in starting to inculcate good values and learn from young. You may feel that your one-year-old child is too young to start learning about manners, however, it is when they are young where we start introducing boundaries to them. Ever witnessed a 5-year-old child throwing a tantrum in public, with their parents trying to console them but with the child only screaming louder than ever? Well, that is the exact situation you are avoiding when you start disciplining and teaching your child early.
Teaching my child
Here lies the question. How do I teach my child manners and how to behave? For starters, you can act out different scenarios of different social situations. For example, you can get the ball rolling on simple greetings, such as “Good Morning”. By setting a habit to greet one another when you wake up and see each other in the mornings, you are already teaching your child the value of respect.
Another way I would suggest is to explain the importance of having good values. It may be challenging to bring the idea across at first, however, with repetition of the actions and of the same value practised, your child will soon get the hang of it. Perhaps you can also explain the consequences of not showing a certain value, based on the previous example, like respect. Help your child know what may happen if they decide to do things or respond in a certain way.
Is punishment the best method? Click here to find out more.
Families are the role model
There’s a common saying “Like a parent, like a child”. Ever wondered why that is the case? Scientific research has shown that children learn by observing their parent’s behaviour. They go on to mimic their parents’ actions, from the way they speak to the way their parents communicate with other people. In other words, parents, and even other family members, do have an influence over how their child turns out to behave and act.
Therefore as a family, when you teach your child about values, know that you should role model the correct manner/behaviour as well. Your child will watch your behaviours and take in your response to different situations. It is important to always try and exhibit your values as a family and to remember to take your child’s presence into consideration. Here are some toddler behavioural problems that you should not turn a blind eye to.
Skills
Once your child is born, they start learning motor skills, language skills, cognitive skills, and emotional skills.
Physical skills
You may be thinking 'Why do I have to teach my child motor skills when they are already practising it every day?’ You have to realise that skills that come across natural and simple to us, were taught to us at a young age. We are taught those skills, and we practise these skills until it becomes natural to us. Likewise, we have to teach physical skills, such as picking up a spoon, or walking, to our children. Involve your child in different types of physical activities. You can also take these opportunities to bond as a family! For instance, you can bring your child for a picnic or a walk in the park.
Language skills
You can talk, sing, read or engage in activities using the specific language that you would like your child to pick up. By exposing him to the language on a consistent basis, your child will be able to pick up and master different languages in due course.
Here is a parent’s recount of how she taught her 5 year old daughter to write chinese characters.
Emotional Skills
Teaching your child basic emotions and how to express and cope with what they are feeling is important. This enables them to develop empathy and compassion for others as well as to be sensitive towards others’ feelings. Want to know how to start? Here is an article on how to help your child manage their emotions.
Kickstart your child’s learning - Nurture Infant House
Nurture Infant House (Tampines)
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Feel free to book an appointment through WhatsApp. You can visit us at the following venues:
Nurture Infant House (Tampines) (2 to 18 months Infants) Blk 433 Tampines Street 43 #01-61 Singapore 520433
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Blk 433 Tampines Street 43 #01-63/65 Singapore 520433
Tel: 96664141
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