This article has been written by Mrs Manila Mathews, Clinical Psychologist, MA, MPhil (Clinical Psychology), Apollo Clinic HSR Layout and Bellandur
In an era where there are self-help books, your parenting guidelines, your parents’ parenting guidelines, doctor Google, the school’s latest suggestions on what’s good for your child, feedback from the mummies school WhatsApp group etc.… any hint of a misbehaved child can bring forth panic.
Behavioural problems in children:
Behavioural problems in children may be understood as any behaviour in a child that’s unusual in a child for his or her age or level of development. These challenging behaviours can be excessive such as being very restless, hyperactive or even aggressive or they can be deficits such as having poor attention or having difficulty interacting interpersonally. Behavioural problems can interfere in learning, restrict access to social opportunities and often require additional manpower and financial resources to manage.
Today, children grow within dual-earner families where work-from-home or away from home are not alien concepts. Parents only want to provide the best for their children. Luckily for us, gone are the days when mothers were referred and expected to be the primary caregivers and fathers the breadwinners. We are also gradually moving into a time when gender roles are less rigid and more flexible.
More fathers today are keen to be hands-on fathers and play a key role in raising their children. But are these flexible gender roles just fancy words that are ill-defined without a clear manual on how to utilize them effectively? There is an overdose of resources available on how to mother a child and why it is crucial for child development. But a random search on fathering children and that too in the Indian context will give you hardly any results. No wonder fathers feel left out, confused and unclear about what role they play and if it matters at all.
What Is Father Engagement?