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TV3O HIW-
COMMUNITY HEALTH & FAMILY PLANNING PROJECT
THE
OF
CHRISTIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION OF INDIA
BANGALORE
COWJM’JRiiTY HEALTH CELL
47/MFirst noor)St. Marks Hoad
BAiMGAkO- S60 001
THE
CHILD
IN
THE
HOME
Paper presented by Dr(Mrs) H.M. Sharma, Director
Community Health & FP Project of the CMAI,s at a
Symposium conducted by the Karnataka State Coun
cil for Child Welfare and other Voluntary organi
zations to inaugurate the INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF
THE CHILD.
I.
T
'S'
/
THE .CHILD IN THE HOME
A Child in the Home is epitomised as the embodiment of happiness^
of the ultimate in the life of parents^ and the joys of caring
and sharing^ These sentiments are expressed in the hope that all
men and women share in this belief, be they rich or poor - that
children are the wealth of a Nation.
short space of time to unravel
It will be difficult in this
the. mysteries that hold the child’s
delight, that cradles its secret sorrows and disappointments and
It is , how-
above all to understand the child as an individual.
ever ,
a matter of importance that nurturing and fostering the
inherent goodness that a child is born with,
is every indication
that nmankind owes to the child the best it has to give”.
This
is the spirit of the Declaration which is reflected in the
pre-
amble to the LUN. Declaration,
Declaration a
and India is a party to this
The preamble further states that the
child because
of its physical and mental immaturity needs special safe guards
and more,
both before and after birth.
The Chilo is a living growing entity - he grows in a family_
which belongs to a
gr oup«
Thus the child though starting with a
Biological foundation grows up and lives in a social environment,
particularly made up of the parents and other members of the
family in the earlier part of his life, and the teachers and his
peers in later life. 'His developmentaljrocesses are thereby
influenced by them.
Concurrently " Learning11 a. basic
process (which is dependant on
the Biological basis in the nervous system) also takes place
at home,
especially in the early years as the child is being
socialised.
Later, learning process takes place formally through
school years when he is exposed to other social groups (urban
areas) and other values
of the group in which he lives.
In India, 42% of the total population are below 15 years of ages
II
the stages of development
of children are,
therefore,
largely
dependant on the chronological age as follows?
I.
Pre-natal Development or
Cellular Birth (from Conception to
. . 2 . .
.Birth) a Biological growth^
II.
Neo-natal (New Born) or Physical Birth,
a Bio-psychological
gr owth 5
III. Infancy
Birth to 2 years. or Emotional Birth, an Emotiional
growth 5
IV.
Early Childhood — 2 years to 5 years — Social Birth9 the
Pr e-school
age of Social adjustments with persons in the
home and environment.
V.
Late Childhood - 5 + years to 12 years, the School Age;
Adolescence - 12 4- to 18 years — a period of Identity
crisis and recognition.
The sama child may have its origin in the slum, the town or in a
rural hom?^ Likewise the child may come from a low income group, a
middle income, or from the affluent strata of society.
years known as the
The early
”Developmentai' age” is considered the most cri-
tide oF all i . e , the formative period5
while the school age is the
preparatory stage for the teenager (adolescence) 9 and adolescence
in today’s context,
the problem years of the young.
Through all
these stages, it is not merely the chronological age that determines
the future of the child in the home 9 but itis the home per sae and
its environment that are basically the matrix for the physical,
the
e motional, mental and social growth and development of the child.
All children are the same wherever they are placed,
are given
equal opportunities for development.
cultural patterns in each strata of society
provided they
The structure and
are perhaps themselves
deterrents to the mental and social growth of the child, apart from
the ignorance. illiteracy, superstitions and traditions that govern
a home.
The most important factor that pre-determines
growth and development
of the child is the
the processes of
Nutritional status - and
as we now know the critical period of 0-5 years including the last
three months of pregnancy is the critical period for the child.
If
the child does not get adequate nutrition,
it is accepted now that
there is under-development intellectually,
and physically also.
J
. . 3
..
The brain does not develop properly, the body does not develop pro-
perly, and most of it is considered to be irreversible whatever we
might do later on •
Therefore,
the child starts with this disadvantage from the very
beginning in a poor family and perhaps. this situation continues
throughout its life , and may show up in the children of these substandard human beings again.
It becomes a vicious circle.
It is stated that 40 - 50 % of the population live below the poverty
line 9 and this gets reflected in the life of the child.
Unf ortunetely
children are the main victims of'poverty, because whatever food is
available 9 tha priority goes to the working man or woman as far as
the family is concerned.
The child, th er e fore, suffers in a poverty-
stricken i'anu.!’/<
In rural areas end in the urban slums, there is no choice in the quality of ford (proteins).
Indeed there is a
"Food-gap' 1 where quantity
is essential to make up the deficiency in calories
Linking the
mother and child, studies on maternal nutrition during pregnancy.
suggest that many instances
of mild mental retardation arc hue to
maternal ma 1-r.utr it ion and inadequate prenatal care.
Factor
ec-
ting the pre-natal growth or the cellular birth and post-natal crri/th
(growth after birth) are of importance in the growth and developmunt
of the infante
Mortality of infants from birth to one year of age is 126 per
IBUi.’,
(and 140 in the rural area), 50% of whom die between 1 week to 6
months, when breast feeding gradually diminishes and when solid
foods are introduced.
this country
Fortunately, breast feeding is prolonged in
even upto 2 years.
vents infection.
Breast milk is nutritious and
pr □-
There are mothers who imitate the middl’e class
and the rich, and think it is the fashion to go in for milk powder
(not even cow's milk) in lieu of breast milk.
This has spread dis-
aster in many a rural home for want of proper cleanliness of bottles
and correct methods of formulating feeds.
This is an expensive sub-
stitute causing dysentery, diarrhoea 9 respiratory diseases, gastr o-
4
.v
intestinal disorders - all of which have a base in malnutrition$
thus resulting in either lowering the physical health of the child
or increasing the Infant Mortality*
As the child grows physically 9
it is amazing how he continues to
survive in the midst of the most insanitary environment^ with mini”
mum intake of food,
hood or
and loaded with parasitic infection*
the Pre-school years” are generally referred
lected child*
It is an accident prone age*
LarJy child
to as the neg-
The infant in its cra
dle is safe when the mother is busy either in the kitchen or else
where*
^t the toddler stage, the child is free to roam around the
home, on the street. help itself to whatever is within its reach
eg. electrical fittings, match boxes etc,,
acciuent situations*
thus exposing itself to
The programme of Health, Nutrition and Safety
measures, includes the education of the mother concurrently with
programmes for improving sanitation and water supply
etc*
It must be
remembered that providing prepared food to the poverty areas
a soluticns nor is a mass feeding programme*
What happens to these
children when this programme is withdrawn ?
Nutrition education
emphasises the availability of locally grown foods5
ing, and budgeting*
methods or cock-
The purchasing power of available foods must
also be taken into account*
The problem with children in more affluent circumstances is again
one of ignorance and superstitions because parents can afford to
provide adequate food of high quality.
nourished or malnourished in the
type of food is given*
Here the child is over
sen so that too much of the wrong
Mothers in the bettor income group believe
that a plumpy infant is a healthy infant unmindful of the hidden
dangers of adiposity*
Talking about Foods and Food Pattern
it is generally understood
that the child in the home will accept the foods offered by the par
ents .
The food pattern will naturally relate to the specific area
and location and the child learns to appreciate over the years the
type of food that it has been accustomed to*
It is a difficult task
to change the food pattern of adults, and their likes and dislike..-
)
• • 5 ••
ars often reflected in the child.
Adults in almost all homes are
aware of foods that produce ’’cold” and those that produce ’’heat”.
There is, therefore,
selection in the type of food given to children
particularly in rural homes as this is part of a child-rearing prac
tice.
The adult, therefore, rejects what is ”good”
for him only
because of his experience gained in early childhood.
Again on Food Habits, the infant nursed by the mother has in reality
no sense of supply and demand.
There is no time-schedule
for mothers
both in rural areas as well as those in the lower income group who
find nursing their babies when convenient
to both.
ness of the infants emerge from feeding situations.
basis of dev-Jopment
positive
Social responsive
It is also the
of social relations and the mother acquires a
/clue by being associated with hunger-reduction of the child.
It is at a later stage after 8 to 12 months and upto 2 years after
solid foods.are introduced 9
that there is a problem of feeding.
the various emotions develop and temper tantrums start.
plenty of dramatization at feeding time,
income group homes.
All
There is
particularly in the better
The child in a poor home 9 h owever, knows only
the pangs of hunger and accepts whatever is offered to him 9 a t any
time •
Most children if left to themselves need no persuasion to have
their food.
The Emotional Development;
Everything and anything in the envircr-
ment affects and has an effect on the child.
Many of the personality
traits of adults have their source in early childhood.
Tho social
and emotional behaviour of adults can also be traced to the emotional
adjustment or mal-adjustment during the period of childhood.
The
formation of an. individual of his perso.nality. and his eocial behaviour
• continues throughout childhood and depends completely on the environ
ment of the growing and developing person.
nowned Psychologist,
To quote Watson, a r e-
who emphasized the importance of environment in
the development of the child - he says ’’Give me children in the early
years, and I will make them what you want”.
Emotional development is
doncerned with the practical problems of child-rearing in the home
which are really the parental practices.
The behaviour patterns of
. •
of children are the result of
6
• ♦
inter-action of these parental prac-tices
between the parents and their children
ent s, •their expression values 9
For
example,
such as the attitudes of par-
interests and training of children*
the arrival of the new born in the family.
The father
feels neglected and sometimes jealous as affection is concentrated
on the child.
The psychological adjustment between the father and
the new born may be made after a whiles
again the presence of the
older child creates a problem for the child and parents.
is lonely and feels deprived of love and affection*
The child
□Ider children
should be prepared by the parents to receive the now born 9 and accept
nim readily in the family.
In a rural heme, generally,
but arise in the day
patterns of behaviour are not planned?
to day actions of care—taking 9 feeding and pr o~
tccting - though not intentional these practices are inherited ^rom
genuratiofi to ouneratj.cn and most of them are centered around rsligj or , and Fave ar influence on the child's emotional growth,
of love, annoys;':a,
nu j /
□tc •
are educated and of a higher
are regulated,
In contrast to a horn
expressions
where parents
income group, the aspects of training
so as to maintain a particular form of behaviour and
those influence the child's actions^
However ?
with refer once to
those educated parents where both arc employed and where ther
nucleur family
what happens to the child at home ?
is a
An ayah takes
care of the child and spends most of the hours of the day with th c
child - this leads to acquisition insidiously of
the child withput the parents perception.
"ayah-cultur0” by
what of those who are 07
the affluent society and whose mothers are more interested in their
society life ?
early,
Tho emotional
pattern in a child is established
particularly with breast feeding; a certain amount of emotional
security is established then.
infant j?elationship.
This situation increases the mothcr______ —
_
The mother
continues to ba the reinforcing
agent and the child's happiness depends on her.
As the infant
grows he learns to rely on the other members of tho family.
During
the 2 - 5 y^ar period of development, the child is the object of
loving care in the family.
He comes into close contact with his
elders; then he is provided with the opportunity of mastering by
• • 7 ••
means of imitation and learning the abilities of language) necessary
for his subsequent life.
are indivisible.
The child's upbringing and his development
There can be no development without
proper train
ing and education which have an exceptionally great effect
child•
Tho child loves his
imitated•
parents,
on the
the actions of parents are
To the young boy tho father'is the hero and to the young
girl the mother is the heroine.
The child, ther afore, absorbs their
feelings and through the process of _identificajtioru
himself the character istics
sets the pattern
institutions.
of his parents.
incorporates Lite
The Homo, therefore.
for the child's attitudes toward people,
( Example)•
things
nd
The female child that has been cheated
by her father feels a sense of frustration and develops hatred towards
her father, □nd this may be projected to the older brother and the nch,'
born if he
in sacio tv.
promises
v.
a male child and perhaps extended to all male members
Iso the child whore the parent has not fulfilJed its
however trivial these may seem.
ir it's pari acs
loses trust and confidence
matter of untruth where parents do nob nos j-
In
tare to utter lias - the ci'.ild either exposes the parents or accepts
it as a pattern of behaviour.
Elders aru frequently mistaken when
they think that the child is still toe small to understand and 2
therefore ? permit themselves to do and say things in his prosonce
that are undesirable
in the child's behaviour.
For example^ cnildrci.
are very sensitive to the relationship between their parents.
child 1cves
The
both his parents and is deeply troubled by quarrels
between them; and tho child becomes the victim when parents are
i
estranged in their relations, or separated and divorced.
Tho child
is faced with a conflicting emotion.
Nover try to overcome the child's fear by stringent measures such
as punishment or force.
ing object or sound is.
Speak kindly,
explain what tho frighten
get the child used to it gradually.
It must be said that in rural homes 9
urban slums and in the lower
economic groups, where joint families still exist, the grandmother
and other relatives help the growing child through love and affection to attain a certain degree of indcpendancc and the child is
• . 8 •.
seldom reproved in any way
The child’s person-
(eg*. Toilet habits)*
ality gradually develops through learning and
Apart from
maturing^
this, because of the fact that the parents have too many children
in the home that individual attention is lacking.
naturally the
children depend on relatives/neighbours and look to them for attenBut this dependance-independence
tion and care.
growth is a cultural
phenomenon reflecting the behaviour pattern of a class or group of
context, when a child of 5 years is in
from neighbours hemes $
childrpq9
the habit of
or pinching and beating
picking up things
others 9 bullying other
it is treated very lightly by parents and elders.
the case wh.re poverty is intractable,
and if1 slums.
particularly with child-beggar s
The same habits in a 10 year
healthy and he is reprimanded then.
is cc.’isidered crime.
becomes
In this
on the social and economic circumstances.
people depending
ueas-unq;
old is described
as
In the early teen-age years :■ t
Picking becomes stealing and theiving? bullying
beating becomes assault
T h er e f or e , if these ha., .tn
are chacked in the very early years, and affectionately te ight that
these unhealthy habits should be avoided, there is every IJ^elihccd
that child-delinquency and social maladjustments could
and reduced <.
Motivation generated in the child towards acnicvuou a
desirable pattern of behaviour is more
rewards for good behaviour and
acceptable.
be contro...ler
helpful than merely u^fering
punishments for
other
tha n whot
Children must be praised and given re cognition f
•
their
achievements 5
The henta1 Development
of a Child in a home is a
measure
of adaptive
Lnvi-
responses made by him to his physical and social environment.
ronmental
factors appear
to have considerable influence
Here again
the socio-economic status of the family affect the mental development
of the child.
The child in the one-room hut in the village has few
objects to provide variety of stimulation - such as toys 9
b ooks ,
coloured pencils etc.
is available.
picture
Children love to play with whatever
A very strong factor that affects the mental and
intellectual development of school children in rural areas is that
they are withdrawn by the parents even in the early classes.
are
Girls
wanted at home aS baby sitters and boys to work in the field or
i
.. 9
graze cattle.
Children are locked upon as economic assets and are
therefore deprived'of primary education•
people are illiterate,
than 70% of
Since more
they persue skilled or unskilled occupations
and seldom have faith in education.
Nevertheless the child in a rural
home is not less happy than his counterpart in the urban home where
perhaps thawedufet-ional process starts quite early arising out of his
■
j
advantaged position.
msnt
Studies have clearly shown
the Dnv±rc2Lm?nt
the need for enrich--- ----- —-
particularly in the pre-school
^xp^rience
age at home in order to develop to the full whatever potential the
child has.
During the Pre-fchool years and as well as in the School years the
child's hours are shared at institutions and the home uo gain control over his environment ano
strengther-ed -
the child seeks
the process of socializing is
through his contact with other children he becomes ria*?u
independent anc carries this sense of disciplinc and training to his
h ome
bas t
observed in rural situations.
class homes,
In the affluent am middle
children tend to have too much freedom.
with limited experience.
There1 is also
over-protection of these
children by tneir parents and too much negativism.
therefor c,
tend to be boisterous and aggressive,
attention at home.
of their
other
fathers and this,
in later
years,
demanding too muon
tends to breed an air of
In the case of the only childv he is fre
over-protected and over-cared
for, and in relations with
children he is apt to be selfish,
not share them with other children^
to give in to others.
These ch aIdrun.
iheir sense of values depends on the occupation
superiority and bossism.
quently
little discipline
takes away his toys and docs
takes
As he grows up this
offence easily when he has
child becomes extremely
moody and cannot adapt himself in society easily.
The major develop-
ment at this stage is acquiring friends, and social intor-actions
bucome mature.
Here again parents are responsible for either cn-
couraging or discouraging their children in discriminating between
the class/occupation/economic,
or social status of their associates.
Behaviour problems arise because of those factors.
The parental
help provided in promoting tolerance and the need to be
their influences of the comments,
aware of
on the experience of their child,
..
10 .c
serve as a fuiindation for and tho duvolopmunt of his personality
and gaining confidence in himself
A negative effect on the child’s
personality is produced by a variance of opinion
on the approach of
the elders of the family towards him.
A word on tho Adolescent $
which is the period of transition from
the 12th to the 14th year of life - the teenager
problem years of the young"
t h e s u arc ’’the
where the development of identity y
and
the growth of interest in the opposite sox constitute two basic
i s s uc s •
It is a period of intensified personal interaction with
associates or the same and opposite sex, or with those at homo.
There is a or owing concern for personal appearance and outside influ
ence boars. mor u on them than those of the home.
While in childhood
children arc prepared to be nurtured and guided by parents at home
9
at the adclosccnt stage, a sens:; of identity and a gr ea t er sense
of independance develops with less attachment
resentment against the attempts
against the f '•her
of
to the homo end strorio
parental control.
par tie 'larly
who happens tc be the disciplinarian.
the picture of the urban groups of tucnagurs,
□ f the hofiia rue jdes and whore a ddsiiu
This
whore the in flue:-co
for freedom prevails*
Thu
urban community being hotorogonious in character and because of
• he
city life^ it is dynamic and constantly changes - the teenager
therefore desires to keep pace with these changes.
On account of
frustrations at home,
and resentment against established authority,
e
thu growing adolescent tends to escape from reality through drugs
or alchoholic abborrations.
leading to
R ustiv oncss, straying away from home
juvenile duslinquincy or criminal
tendencies are all
symptoms of the problems of the teenager in today’s context.
Compar
these to the rural situation where opportunities for self-advancemsnc
are few and far.
A rural area being homogenous in its traditions &
cultural practices (reference is not to caste) 9 whole villages of
families are interested in each other.
Th er o is hardly an y conflict
in their value systems and they do not question customs and tradi
tional practices as they are largely religion—center cd•
Hence
people are conservative and therefore follow an accepted way of
living.
While the city teenager is more autonomous in his behaviour
c
than his rural counterpart.
more
11
,.
The urban parunt therefore has to be
understanding than the rural parent.
In conclusions
to quote the Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra Univer
sity in his keynote address at the Haryana State Board of the
Indian Council for Child Welfare., where ho emphasized the importance
of what hu called "parent education"»
Indian children ’’pre-school”
He pointed
is not a balwadi.,
It is just the home and everyday surroundings.
out that for most
or a nursery school
So the
only way to
makq sure that those children enter school with, the right mcntal
and emotional, approach for thoir intellectual development is to
educate chc narunts,
Those thoughts are relevant with
our
theme
of the ’Child in the Hemo".
x-
(paper presented by Dr(firs^ H.fi* Sharma9 Directory Community Health
& Family Planning Project of the Christian nodical Associa Lion^ of
Indic, at a Symposium conducted by the Karnataka State Council for
Child Welfare and other Voluntary organisations to inaugurate ths
CHILD.)
INTERNATIONAL YEAR
OF
THE
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