Children may have their own idiosyncrasies in various departments! How far should you go to indulge the same?
You may be wondering about some parenting basics related to indulging children and you are certainly not alone! A sizable number of parents often remain clueless with regard to tackling the wishes, demands and idiosyncrasies of their little ones. The question always is- How far should we indulge these idiosyncrasies? How far can we go before putting some ground rules or measures in place? These are questions that are seldom answered, leaving parents in a quandary of sorts! They either go the whole hog to indulge them, thereby leaving gaps in the child’s sense of self-control, discipline and mental focus while sometimes there is the counter phenomenon of over-strictness, leading to children steadily abandoning their flights of fancies and hindering their creative, artistic and imaginative joys altogether! This is also not desirable. How do you strike a balance in this regard? Sometimes, it is time to listen to the experts.
Several professional counselors feel that parents should take it on a case to case basis. The type of idiosyncrasy is what matters in this case, according to them. Sometimes, it can often reveal a deeper interest and possibilities for future growth in ways that you cannot picture now. Suppose your child has a habit of suddenly leaving the breakfast table and dancing to his/her heart’s content. Let us again assume that he/she keeps doing this almost every time and everywhere. In this case, what you should do is seek out the best online hobby classes for dance lessons at platforms like Yellow Class. Find out fun activities for kids when you find their idiosyncrasies having ample potential for new learning, creative/imaginative or artistic growth. Suppose your child is always drumming on the table as a form of expression even after being told not to. Instead of taking things to a disciplinary level, enroll him/her in a music class and watch him/her channelize the same through drumming/percussion lessons for instance. If your child is drawing everywhere and with everything, put him/her in drawing class. If your child is simply hankering for you to tell him/her more stories and tales, put him/her into an online storytelling session likewise.
These are some of the idiosyncrasies that can be tackled likewise. However, some behavioral patterns can be non-negotiable. Anything that is not conducive to the child’s happiness, social relations and interactions with others, ground rules and protocols at home and basic duties will naturally be counterproductive if over-indulged. Basic courtesies, manners, social duties and interactions should be suitably taught to the child. Set clear expectations regarding the same and talk about why a particular habit or pattern is not right. Also make it clear that there will be actions or consequences for repetition of the same after a certain number of times. In this way, you give them a certain allowance for such behavior and your unconditional acceptance while steadily preparing them to reshape their idiosyncrasies based on what is acceptable.