Top 3 Parenting Issues In India And Ways to Overcome Them

Parenting is one of the most beautiful tasks but a difficult one as well. It can be called a task because one needs to be mindful in bring up children, it cannot be that you give birth and the children just grow up on their own. It is similar to tending to a plant if you want it to grow well and blossom. So the tiny buds that our children are, need a lot of looking after too. The little ones need to be raised well, however, there are three common parenting issues that almost every parent faces. 

We have a different way in which we take care of the needs of our children and how we help our kids to blossom and prosper in the right manner is really up to us. Besides, every child is unique and has different traits that need to be understood and worked on accordingly. 

Top 3 parenting issues in India and ways to overcome them:

1. Tantrums

This is one of the most tiresome and annoying parenting issues being faced especially by parents with one child only. Be it at home, marketplace, visiting someone, about of tantrum is something the child carries along. It is frustrating as well as tiring for a parent if this has become a habit. And our current lifestyle is such that most of the time we give in to the child’s tantrums without realizing we are adding more fuel to the fire and not working on the root cause of dealing with the problem.

Solution: The first thing here is to figure out why your little one is throwing tantrums every now and then. Is it because he/she wants your attention? Or is there another problem? Children, who are yet to learn to express their emotions through words, use this method to convey dislike, fear, pain or anything that they might find unpleasant. So as a parent you need to get to the reason behind the tantrum. Instead of scolding the child, be patient and talk to him/her in a calm voice and try to reason out. If it doesn’t work, tell the child you will listen only if he/she quietens down.

2. Boredom

Another common problem that parents can be heard discussing these days is how easily their child gets bored, and if they do not get what they want to play with or watch television, then every five minutes you are bound to hear these words, ”I am bored”. This wasn’t the case some years back, or it can be said when children didn’t have so many technological choices to play with at hand.

Solution: Let them indulge in as many outdoor activities as possible. Instead of giving in to the easy options of watching television or playing on the mobile or tab, let them explore and learn from other activities. Inculcate reading habits. The most important point, teach them the value of the nothing-to-do time. It is during these times when the brain comes up with innovative ideas and they will learn to keep themselves entertained and occupied on their own, without taking resort to ready-made activities spoon-fed to them.

3. The idiot box and the mobile phone

In a social gathering, at restaurants and even at homes, mobile phones and television have seemed to become the savior for parents to keep their little ones in one place without disturbing them. Though an easy way out for mothers in a nuclear family or tired parents post-office hours, these easy solutions have long-term repercussions. Many parents don’t even monitor what kind of cartoons the child ends up watching.

Solution: If you have been using the mobile to keep your child quiet and in one place in social gatherings, then instead of using this method, try talking to the child before you step out of the home. List out the do’s and don’t’s that he/she needs to be mindful of. Maybe create your own set of code words to communicate with the child what you had discussed earlier. Reward if the child has managed to follow some parts of the instructions initially until it becomes ingrained that this is how one manages oneself in public. Carry different toys along to keep him/her occupied. At home, regulate television time, but the best would be to minimize it as much as possible. The best would be to give the child enough activities, especially outdoors.

Most of these might sound difficult to follow, but do little by little, one at a time, these issues, which are a real pain now, will surely get sorted. If you have any unique solution that you follow for your little one, then please do share it with us.