Protect Your Kid's Emotional Well-being

In our effort to balance extremely full and frantic lifestyles with our households and our work, we might have been neglecting an all-important aspect of our child's life: their emotional well-being. The initial 3 years of a child's life is a crucial period for a child, and the stress of changing child care providers or having a 'part-time' parent float in and out of their life can be very upsetting and destabilizing for them.

It is essential that parents, educators, involved grown-ups and care providers make a concerted joint effort to ensure that a child's emotional requirements are met every day, just like their physical requirements are. The results of not meeting a child's emotional needs, especially throughout the first three years of life, can have devastating outcomes. Violent, disruptive or defiant behaviors can result.

The initial three years of life tend to be important in numerous ways. This is when bonding and emotional separation takes place. If there are interruptions in either of these functions, misbehaviors from the youngster can result. This may later have an effect on their relationships later on in life and hinder them in establishing their own wholesome relationships as teenagers or adults.

During the first 3 years of life, the brain experiences its most rapid advancement ever, the likes of which will never been experienced again. By the time they are 3 years old, a child's brain is already 'hardwired' from the experiences they've had to that point. It is imperative that these be caring, encouraging, safe, positive experiences so the brain is going to be conditioned to expect positive things. If they've been scary, hurtful, abusive, or unsafe, then the brain is conditioned to expect negative occurrences.

Therefore it's essential that parents, caregivers and additional involved adults create a concerted effort to make sure the kids' emotional needs are met in a positive, helpful and healthy fashion. Parents should make sure that the child's care providers are stable and consistent, and don't switch them about to various daycare providers during this important phase. Make certain a child feels safe and secure with structured and regular agendas and routines.

Make sure you invest as much quality time with your kid at this time as you possibly can, regardless of your otherwise active and hectic lifestyle. A child can sense that this type of schedule is tense to you and it can become a scary or puzzling element for them. Therefore it's important to take time out to reassure them that you are never too busy for them.

Keep in mind that your kids' emotional well-being is just as important as their physical, so do your part to make sure your child understands he's growing up safe, secure, cherished and loved.


For many more tips and techniques to deal with challenging children, take a look at Total Transformation by James Lehman. It’s one of the best child behavior programs I’ve ever seen – it worked for our family, I’m sure it can work for yours!