KIDS’ PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS – NOT ALL PARENTS KNOW

There was a large number of parents who attended the most recent Parenting Workshop – a regular meeting for all parents – on the topic “ How do parents react to students’ needs” held at all of Kindy City International PreSchool’s campuses.

The workshop provided parents with satisfactory knowledge about their child’s psychology – related matters and useful tips from Doctor Nguyen Thi Bich Hong – Lecturer of The Pedagogical University.

According to Doctor Bich Hong, how the students act today is the consequence of previous circumstance and actions. Before the children are even born, they learn important things from  their parents, not only about the body but also about their psychology.

There are four basic psychological needs that children need to be met: being loved, being understood, being able to communicate and explore their environment, being acknowledged for their achievements

1. The need of being loved

Parents need to use loving words.

– Loving words for kids (through talking with them and touching Mom’s stomach during the pregnancy period) will later help children speak and understand feelings of love.

– Intimate gestures: cuddling/ playing with them.

– Giving children gifts

– Taking good care of them.

– Spending quality time with them.

Parents usually make a mistake of hiding their feelings or mainly expressing their negative feelings, such as the negative emotions of anger and discomfort, which makes the children  focus on these negative emotions rather than developing positive ones.

Parents need to express their natural feelings when communicating with kids so that they can easily take the experience and learn how to express their feelings towards other people.

2. The need of being understood

Parents need to show their empathy and consistancy to meet children’s need of being understood.

Parents usually make the mistake of not listening to their children and instead, imposing their subjective experiences on them.

3. The ability to communicate and explore their environment.

– Infancy: kids have a big need in psychology, especially the need in communicating with the older people.
– During kindergarten age kids are willing to learn how to use and manipulate things and the language needs to be developed during this stage.
– For preschool children want to explore their environment through play: playing with toys and different materials. At this age, children learn through play and play to learn. Playing is a psychological need at this age.

If the activities are supported and organized well, kids will play proactively and creatively. Hence, they will discover their ability and become more confident. On the other hand, being limited in playing will make them become shy and stubborn when they grow up.

For kids at preschool age, parents need:

• Create a safe enviroment for them to experience and use different objects.
• Support and instruct them accordingly.
• Know the correct time to have positive/negative attitude toward the children’s explorative play (dangerous items should not be with kids).

4. The need of being acknowledged for their achievements.

Kids usually feel acknowledged when they ample opportunity to express themselves.

Kids should be praised when doing something good. When not doing it so well, they still have another opportunity to be achieve if parents keep encouraging them. If so, parents are helping their children improve their self- esteem.

A few things parents usually make mistakes in:

– Stop kids from expressing themselves.

– Don’t care about acknowledging their children’s achievements, so parents don’t give feedback on what their children have done.

– High demand and even show unsatisfactory attitude towards what their children have done.

Understanding about “ children’s psychological needs” is a need as well as a prerequisite, to provide them with a better education.