Common behaviors in children that parents often encounter include impatience, unwillingness to wait, crying, selfishness, boredom, lack of perseverance, and being noisy all the time, defiant, aggressive, lack of focus, and slower development compared to peers of the same age. What is the best way to raise them, and wouldn’t it be better if we could understand and discover our child’s potential from a young age? Therefore, if you suspect your child’s behavior is unusual compared to other children of the same age, you should consult a doctor to undergo developmental screenings with various standard tools.
Preliminary Developmental Assessment
This preliminary developmental assessment is suitable for parents who are suspicious of their child’s behavior, including parents who want to know if their child excels in any skills, to lead to treatment planning or preparation before school. Especially, children with developmental delays should come immediately upon suspicion, without having to wait until the age of 1.
There is a case example of a child who could not assemble simple jigsaw puzzles. Upon testing, it was found that the child had vision problems and issues with using hand muscles. Compared to language skills, it was found that the child was good at speaking and storytelling. Parents can observe from what the child enjoys playing, which will reflect their prominent skills.”
For example, parents who want to promote musical play must give children the opportunity to explore on their own according to their interests and aptitudes. At the same time, parents must also consider the child’s readiness. If a child does not have strong hand muscles, they may not be suitable for musical instruments that require fine muscle control, such as a piano. Instead, you might encourage playing string instruments like violin or percussion instruments like drums, because they use the entire hand and not just some fingers.
Doctors also reference medical evidence that genetics affects a child’s behavior by 50%, the other 50% comes from upbringing or the environment. Thus, impatient parents have a 50% chance that their child will also be impatient, but it’s not necessarily a flaw.
“A doctor once advised a mother who was impatient. Her child was also impatient, easily frustrated, and quick to anger. When angry, he would grab a staple wire to scratch his mother. Behaviors like these, if not corrected from childhood, could become adults with violent behaviors and emotions. However, if parents adapt their parenting approach, the child could have the opportunity to coexist normally in society.”
Teaching Children to Manage Anger
However, this impatient nature is also a part of their style, but how can we make this inherent style coexist with society normally and happily?
There are several tricks, such as first checking if the mother’s impatience is from a psychiatric issue. If she cannot control herself, she must be treated first because it affects the child. If it’s not a psychiatric issue, both parents should remind the child whenever an angry mood strikes, to make them aware of their current emotion.
At the same time, parents should stress that they dislike such behavior and importantly, must not show anger in return. On the contrary, they should quickly praise the child for being able to suppress their anger. Eventually, the child will learn bit by bit how to suppress their anger, allowing them to regulate their emotions better.
Everyone gets angry; it’s natural, but it’s how one adjusts their behavioral response that matters.”
Dr. Mantana Chalanant, a pediatrician specializing in developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Bangkok Hospital, further stated “Every child has different emotional foundations and identities, therefore, they respond differently to stimuli. Understanding the child’s identity is crucial for parents to respond appropriately to each child of every age to ensure optimal development.”
Encouraging children to develop properly and providing appropriate responses for their age can affect their intellectual, emotional, social skills, problem-solving, and creativity, leading to successful future outcomes.
Moreover, parents can bring children aged 9 months – 5 years for developmental assessments, as this is the period when the brain undergoes maximum development, which can highlight a child’s capabilities in various aspects, such as intellectual and visual abilities.
