Making Your Child Feel Safe and Secure
If you ask most parents if they think their children feel safe and secure, they would probably answer yes. But is this really true?
Take a moment to think about the environment your child lives in. Is there constant fighting between the parents? Are all conflicts dealt with in a hostile fashion? Is there name calling? Any of these things and more can give your child the impression that their lives are precarious, and at any moment may change for the worse.
They Think the World Revolves Around Their Little Selves
Young children are quite egocentric when it comes to troubles in the family. They will often believe that parents are fighting over something they did or failed to do. Children don’t have the necessary coping skills nor the life experience to know that the problems between others are no fault of their own.
The Overprotective Parent
Parents who tend to smother their children may think they are giving their children a feeling of safety and protection, when in fact the opposite is true. If the adults in a child’s life are constantly worried about bad things happening, then the child will naturally pick up on that attitude. They will feel that the world is not a safe place and can later develop problems coping with everyday problems on their own.
The End Results
Children, who grow up not feeling safe, often grow up to be troubled adults. They may have abandonment issues, difficulty in trusting and forming intimate relationships, and strive for impossible perfection. They may feel insecure, helpless and distrustful of others as well as their own feelings and emotions. Giving your child a sense of security is more important than any material things you can give them. Think about what you can do to make him feel even more secure.
Filed under: Family Issues, Child Health
