Strategies To Help Children Overcome Family Crises

Margot

Margot  is refusing to eat and sleep. She is calling out the names of her mother and father in her sleep that indicates that her parents are separated and she is suffering the brunt of this family crisis in her life. A child goes through a tough time when they have to face such a dire situation in her life. The child can be provided with a puzzle in which the she will have to match a picture on the card board with the toy mini figures given. This game helps in stimulating the mind of the child and will keep her engaged. The child likes to look at books and play with block that means that Margot is interested in creative pursuits. She should engage in a playful activity that would make her feel engaged and happy (Hamre et al., 2014).

Cognitive therapy will be used for Margot and the game of puzzle would help in sharpening the mental abilities of the children. After Margot has successfully done a puzzle, then she can show it to the teacher. The teacher would gift her with a ball when she notices that Margot has been successful in completing the puzzle. This will help in creating a bond with the teacher and would help her to get over the situation of distress in her life (Lyn et al., 2014).  Margot would later on be asked to fetch a ball of a particular colour to the teacher. Recognition of colour will be facilitated with the help of this game. It will act as an advantage if the child stays engrossed in activities as it would help the child to get over her worries.

The support and co-operation of the educators would help in bringing Margot to the flow of normal life and would help her in becoming emotionally strong. The playful activities should be introduced in the curriculum of Margot and people should also come forward to support her. Margot would be able to develop the faculty of concentration since she has to recognise the picture on the cardboard and the mini figures. Cognitive abilities are the skills that requires the effective working of the brain and is involved in the arena of problem solving. They will help the child to learn, remember and pay attention to minute details (Greenfield, 2014).  

The cognitive skills will help in improving perception and help in the field of decision making. Social skills would also be developed with the help of this resource as the child would have to interact with the teacher. Cognitive skills are supported with the help of specific neuronal network. The cognitive ability of perception can be improved by the help of making use of the resource of puzzle. The ability of sustaining concentration can be developed by providing the brain with brain teasers (Ward et al., 2015). It will help in managing and adjusting to the competing demand of our environment. It can also help in developing goal oriented behaviour and can help in the arena of execution of plan. It will also help in developing flexibility that signifies the ability to switch to the appropriate mental mode

Janine

The father of Janine is supporting the cousins as a result of which Janine is feeling left out. A school reading program in which Janine can spend time reading with her father would help in developing her reading skills. This program can help in bringing the father close to the daughter and strengthen the bond that they have. This would also help in developing the faculty of reading and improve her vocabulary. The socio-cultural theory states that parents, peers and culture can contribute in helping to develop higher order functions. The socio-cultural theory grew from the works of seminal psychologist Lev Vygotsky. According to Vygotsky, children have basic biological constraints when they are born. Culture helps in providing the tool of intellectual adaptation. These tools help the children to use mental abilities that can help them in adapting to the culture (Moore, 2017).  Janine feels left out because her father is paying attention to her cousins and this causes Janine to undergo mental turmoil. With active help from her father, she can overcome this problem which would provide sufficient time to the father and the daughter in strengthening their bond. Children are very sensitive and they easily tend to get disturbed. Janine has developed a feeling of jealousy because her father is paying attention to the cousins (Tovar et al., 2015).

During the reading program, the father can explain the concept of the story to the child. He can explain the concept of good and evil to the child that would help the child to learn about moral principles. The moral principles will thus be imbibed in the children from an early stage and he will make use of these principles in his life. It will help in removing the differences of the child and help in bringing them together. The stories also contain the names of animals, flowers and fruits and it will help the child to broaden the field of knowledge. This reading program will thus help not only in bringing the father and daughter close together but will also teach the child about important things.

While narrating the story, the father can talk to the kid that will make the child forget about resentment that she was harbouring against her father (Masten, 2014).

Janine has developed a tendency of bossing friends which is the reason why she is being referred to as “bossy boots” in school. The lack of attention that the daughter is getting from her father has compelled her to take up this dominant role and she indulges in the practice of subduing other people (Cabrera & Tamis-Le Monda, 2014).  She can come out of this bad habit if she is offered emotional support. It is the lack of attention that she is getting from the family that is making her indulge in the habit of bossing her friends. With proper emotional support she can come out of this stage and become a happy individual. It is her dissatisfaction with life that is making her indulge in such a bad practice. Once she gets the proper amount of emotional support, love and affection she will be able to adjust freely with her friends at school

Bertie

Bertie can be provided with some plants and he can be asked to rear those plants. Rearing those plants will help in keeping the child engaged and it will provide his life with a sense of purpose. A sense of purpose will be instilled in the life of the child and he will emerge to become a happy individual. This activity will keep the child busy and help him to slowly come out of his mental problem. He will gradually emerge to become an active and happy individual who would enjoy the company of other people. Behavioural theory would be used as a therapy to help the child out of the situation of crisis (Tully et al., 2017).  The teacher can also help the child to come out of his fragile mental state. The teacher can actively participate in helping the child rearing the plant that would make the child think of himself to be more important. This activity will restore confidence in his abilities and he will slowly start to show interest in different activities and he will mix with other people (Meppelder et al., 2015).  

The behaviour theory will lay importance on the needs of the child and help him in developing his cognitive abilities. Behavioural theory focuses on how the environmental interaction has an influence on behaviour and it deals with observable behaviours. Bertie is good at communication along with numerical abilities which shows that he has good intelligent quotient. He is however lacking in social skills and he needs to develop these skills so that he can freely mingle in the society. It is often found that if the child does not learn social skills then he would not be able to adjust to the society and society in turn will mock him (Puyau et al., 2016).

The abnormal traits in children become more evident as they grow up. Society will become more welcoming towards the child if Bertie mixes properly in the society. The social skills of Bertie can be properly developed with the help of active support of his fellow students and teachers. They should come forward to help the child that would help the child to become more matured and would help in developing his skills.

School and family should foster a sound learning development so that the child can develop social competence. The planting of the sapling and seeing it become a big tree in front of his eyes can engender a sense of joy in the child and he will gradually become more social at school. It will help the child in attaining positive outcome in life and rejuvenate a sense of dignity in the child. The socio-emotional skills will be nurtured in the child and it will lead to improvements in the academic performance (Tran, 2017). His attitude towards self and the others need to change and this social activity will help in bringing all his classmates together. He will gradually grow friendly at school and exhibit proper social behaviour. When the small sapling will become a big plant the teacher can provide the child with a reward that would help in retaining his confidence in himself. He would grow to become a happy individual and become a more social and confident personality (Ruvalcaba et al., 2015)

Michael is showing signs of maladjustment at school. He is in Grade 6 and he is taking days off the school for illness. He does not have any friends at school and he is often left in hospital care for around two to three weeks. He is mentally disturbed that is causing him to steer clear of school. He is becoming resentful towards the teacher and parents because he cannot adjust well in the environment. He has missed out on a lot of school curriculum and is facing a situation of crisis in his life (Booth, 2014).  An activity called “tug of war” can be introduced as an activity in the school in which all the students of Grade 6 would have to participate. This activity makes use of the humanistic theory which was a psychological perspective that came into prominence in the middle of the 20th century. It is found that if the child feels good about himself then it would lead to improvement in his overall behaviour. He will start showing positive signs when he starts feeling confident about himself (Lamb, 2014).  In case of humanism, learning is self-directed. The learning environment is non-threatening that helps in facilitating the learning of the child. It will help to the child to regain interest in studies which will indirectly make him attend school.

The tug of war game can help in developing a bond between the class mates. Michael may initially be reluctant to play the game but once he starts playing he will start enjoying the game. This game would bring the class mates together. Michael would become motivated to play the game once he notices the enthusiasm that other class mates have for the game. Learning is a means with the help of which one can proceed towards pinnacle of self-development (Havnes  & Mogstad, 2015).  A child will only perform well if he or she is inwardly driven. Extrinsic award are rewards like praise and money that can compel an individual to excel. Intrinsic reward on the other hand are the rewards that one gets from inside one’s inner self like the satisfaction that one gets from within.

The game of tug of war will keep Michael engaged and it will help him to concentrate on an activity. This concentration would in turn help Michael to focus in his studies (Werner et al., 2016). It will teach the child about team work and how co-operation can prove to be effective in winning a game. The learning environment is of vital significance for the development of the child. It is found that if the learning environment is conducive then it can help the child in his successful development. The learning environment should help the child to learn new things. It is found that if the child is happy with the environment, then it will have positive effects on his learning habits and his general behaviour (Tate et al., 2015).  Michael will develop a sense of competition as the result of the game that would help in keeping him motivated. He will try to outperform others that would help in making him stay focussed and strengthen his learning abilities.

Reference list :

Booth, A. (Ed.). (2014). Child care in the 1990s: Trends and consequences. Routledge.

Cabrera, N. J., & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (Eds.). (2014). Handbook of father involvement: Multidisciplinary perspectives. Routledge.

Greenfield, P. M. (2014). Cross-cultural roots of minority child development. Psychology Press.

Hamre, B., Hatfield, B., Pianta, R., & Jamil, F. (2014). Evidence for general and domain?specific elements of teacher–child interactions: Associations with preschool children’s development. Child development, 85(3), 1257-1274.

Havnes, T., & Mogstad, M. (2015). Is universal child care leveling the playing field?. Journal of Public Economics, 127, 100-114.

Lamb, M. E. (2014). Child care in context: Cross-cultural perspectives. Psychology Press.

Lyn, R., Evers, S., Davis, J., Maalouf, J., & Griffin, M. (2014). Barriers and supports to implementing a nutrition and physical activity intervention in child care: directors’ perspectives. Journal of nutrition education and behavior, 46(3), 171-180.

Masten, A. S. (2014). Global perspectives on resilience in children and youth. Child development, 85(1), 6-20.

Meppelder, M., Hodes, M., Kef, S., & Schuengel, C. (2015). Parenting stress and child behaviour problems among parents with intellectual disabilities: the buffering role of resources. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 59(7), 664-677.

Moore, R. C. (2017). Childhood’s domain: Play and place in child development (Vol. 6). Routledge.

Puyau, M. R., Adolph, A. L., Liu, Y., Wilson, T. A., Zakeri, I. F., & Butte, N. F. (2016). Energy Cost of Activities in Preschool-Aged Children. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 13(6 Suppl 1), S11-S16.

Ruvalcaba, O., Rogoff, B., López, A., Correa-Chávez, M., & Gutiérrez, K. (2015). Chapter Eight-Children’s Avoidance of Interrupting Others’ Activities in Requesting Help: Cultural Aspects of Considerateness. Advances in child development and behavior, 49, 185-205.

Tate, E. B., Shah, A., Jones, M., Pentz, M. A., Liao, Y., & Dunton, G. (2015). Toward a better understanding of the link between parent and child physical activity levels: The moderating role of parental encouragement. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 12(9), 1238-1244.

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Tran, V. (2017). Parent/caregiver involvement in activities with children and child language, school readiness, and social-emotional outcomes in a high quality early learning program(Doctoral dissertation).

Tully, L. A., Piotrowska, P. J., Collins, D. A., Mairet, K. S., Hawes, D. J., Kimonis, E. R., … & Dadds, M. R. (2017). Study protocol: evaluation of an online, father-inclusive, universal parenting intervention to reduce child externalising behaviours and improve parenting practices. BMC psychology, 5(1), 21.

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Werner, C. D., Linting, M., Vermeer, H. J., & Van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2016). Do intervention programs in child care promote the quality of caregiver-child interactions? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Prevention Science, 17(2), 259-273.