Parents' Guide To Combating The 23 Bad Habits In Kids Cont'd (4)

 Continued from previous one...

 

10. Disobedience:

Disobedience is common to all mankind irrespective of age. Children are human beings too. Children's disobedience to parents, guardians, and caregivers, can begin to manifest at different age brackets and ways. During the under-listed developmental stages in children, they manifest disobedience: 

a. At infancy age (6-12 months):

Infants may begin to manifest disobedience to parents and authority at infantile age by refusing to obey simple instructions from parents, guardians, and caregivers. As they develop further, both physically and cognitively, they tend to assert their own independence by flagrantly rejecting parental advice and guidance and throwing caution overboard. 

b. At toddlerhood age (1-3 years):

The children manifest disobedience once they feel that they are unable to have their own ways. They display tantrums and defy instructions. For example, if the mother or teacher tells the child to pick up his/ her toy from the floor, the child will belligerently say, "No, I can't.", to the bewilderment of the parent or caregiver! If the child is told, "Jimmy, give me your candy.", the little boy will pull his shoulder to show his refusal to that instruction. 

c. At preschool age (3-5 years): 

At preschool age, the preschoolers may begin neglecting parents and authority by flagrantly refusing to pay heed to established rules and regulations. They begin to oppose their parents and authority by consistently telling them, "No, I can't " or "No, I won't." 

d. At school age (6-12 years): 

They may begin to  disregard rules and regulations both at homes and at schools. They may also deliberately engage in obstinacy and antisocial conducts such as talking back to parents, authority, elders, and bluntly refusing to do class assignments. When your child is reluctant to do his/ her class works, you have got a real problem. 

e. At adolescence age (13 years+):

At this age, the child begins questioning parents and authority as well as pushing boundaries. The child begins to show inclination to risk-taking behaviours such as smoking marijuana, drunkenness, illicit sexual activities etc. He/ she begins to return home when it is very late at night. When this happens, parents, guardians, and caregivers become uncomfortable and at sea of what intervention measures to resort to. First, they will have to get the erring child seated and talk to him/ her to make a quick U-turn from his bad habits. They may need to discipline that child but in tandem with the United Nation's Convention on the Right of Child (CRC) Article 28, which emphasizes the role of discipline in schools, stating that it should be" administered in a manner consistent with the child's human dignity."  UNESCO , in its Guidelines for Parents,Teachers, and Caregivers, emphasized the positive place of discipline, advising parents and educators to focus relentlessly on teaching children self-regulation skills rather than always embarking on giving out punishments. The WHO's Parenting for Lifelong Health Initiative provides guidelines for parents on positive parenting practices, including managing misbehaviours and encouraging positive behaviours among children. The UNICEF's Child-Friendly Schools Framework created a supportive and inclusive learning environment that enhances friendly behaviours and drastically pegs down disobedience among the children.

The disadvantages of bad habit of disobedience in children are many. It leads to behavioral problems and chequered relationships between children, parents, guardians, caregivers, teachers, school authority and peers. The remedial measures are as follows: 

a. Establish clear rules at homes and schools to prevent children from disobedience.

b. Tell them the consequences of disobedience, including the punitive measures which shall be meted out to all defaulters irrespective of gender and status.

c. Practise positive reinforcement.

d. Teach the children to model good behaviours. 

11. Bad Eating Habit:

This is another bad habit which children develop and manifest as the grow. Bad eating habit has many forms and appearances. It includes not eating proper meals, eating many sugary foods such as ice creams and chocolates, consumption of high sugar-content soft drinks such as Coca Cola, Fanta etc, and the habit of skipping breakfasts, lunch and dinner. If a child begins to consume unhealthy junk foods frequently, it can undoubtedly lead to health complications. Children who eat unhealthy junk foods are susceptible to having health challenges such as body over weight (obesity). According to confirmed health authorities, a healthy diet includes the following: Fruits, vegetables, legumes (lentiles and beans) nuts, and whole grains, example unprocessed maize, millet, wheat, and brown rice. At least 40kg of fruit and vegetables per day, excluding potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and other starchy roots. 

Babies should be breastfed and young children fed with balanced diets. It is advisable to eat plenty of vegetables and fruits. Eat less fat. Limit sugar and salt intake. The taking of healthy diet throughout life not only prevents different forms of malnutrition, but also significantly reduces the risks of deaths. International organizations such as WHO, UNICEF, and FAO have respectively given health guidelines and diet strategies to combat bad eating habits. For example, WHO's Global Strategy On Diet, Physical Activity and Health emphasizes the unarguable necessity of promoting healthy eating habits in children to prevent overweight (obesity), diabetes, and other diet-related diseases. It also recommends that children of 2-18 years limit their daily sugar intake to less than 10% of total energy intake. In like venation, UNICEF's Nutrition Strategy has highlighted the nutrition pattern in the first 1, 000 days of life, including the promotion of breastfeeding and provision of nutrient-rich foods. In the UNICEF's Guidelines on Healthy Eating, it recommends that children eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other protein-based diets. The Food and Agriculture Organization's Guidelines on Healthy Diets encouraged healthy eating habits in children, and de-emphasized the eating of processed and packaged foods. The FAO also discouraged waste of food and encouraged healthy sourced foods. The disadvantages of bad eating habit are: 

a. Eating high-calorie, high-fat, and high-sugar foods can cause overweight (obesity). 

b. It increases vulnerability to chronic diseases such as cardiac (heart), stroke, diabetes (type 2), and cancer.

c. Diets without essential nutrients can cause anaemia, osteoporosis, osteomalacia, and dysfunctional immunity systems.

d. It causes digestive problems such as constipation, diarrhea, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). 

e. And others.

Bad eating habit preventive measures are:

a. Keep the children physically active so that they burn more calories of energy to feel hungry. 

b. If they refuse to eat, do not force them. They will finally get hungry and demand for the food.

c. There should be a fixed time for meals and let them be accustomed to it.

d. Parents should try to include a variety of meals so that the children may have choices to make. 

12. Bedtime Refusal:

Bedtime refusal means when a child refuses to sleep at the right time designated by parents for him to sleep. By altering the sleep patterns which the parents made, it results in delayed sleep time and delayed overall development of that child. Many children have formed this bad habit of bedtime refusal. Consequently, they suffer from overall retarded development. The WHO's Sleep Duration Recommendation said that children aged between 1-2 years have 11-14 hours of sleep, including naps, while children aged 3-5 years should have 10-13  hours of sleep. More so, the American Academy of Sleep suggested that children aged 1-2 years have 12-15 hours of sleep, while children of 3-5 years should have sleep of 10-13 hours. Anyone who refuses to have enough sleep will surely have a short life span. When a child refuses to sleep, he will surely experience an overall developmental deficit. The disadvantages of bedtime refusal are as follows:

a. It causes disruption to sleep patterns.

b. It causes retardation to the overall development of a child.

c. It retards physical growth and strength.

d. It increases vulnerability to death.

e. It causes poor academic performance because the child will be sleeping in the classroom due to the past sleepless night.

Bedtime refusal can be controlled by the following measures: 

a. Parents, guardians, and caregivers should limit screen time before going to bed. 

b. Children should go to bed at the same time with parents, except if the children are studying their books.

c. A regular bedtime routine should be created and established.

d. Parents, guardians, and caregivers should create a conducive environment for sleep.

e. Engage in calm activities before bedtime. 

f. Embark on physical activities during daytime to burn off calories.  

In summary, parents, guardians, caregivers and school authority should work cohesively to curb down the bad habits which our children are subjected to. If the children of today are not saved from bad habits, what virtues and morals would they hand over to their own posterity? What will be the behaviour of children on this Earth in 100 years time horizon from today? 

Please, share with your friends and dear ones. Thank you very much.