In the infancy stage and childhood, health care of the child is the sole responsibility of parents,
elder brothers, sisters and other adult family members. It is a stage of life when the foundation
of a child’s personality is laid down. If the child is not cared for and looked after well, she is bound
to encounter various psychotic and physical upsets. No iron discipline should ever be foisted upon the innocent child nor any effort be made, overtly or covertly, to apply the normal yardstick of elderly behaviour. If inhibitions and taboos are allowed to affect a child’s way of life, she will develop a ruptured and fragmented personality.
CHILDHOOD
Too much pampering and undue attachment or else extreme neglect need to be avoided, as both methods will spoil a child. In our own country child care is a neglected phenomenon, due to the fact that the birth of a female child is considered to be an ominous and unwelcome event. It is easily forgotten, due to age-old traditional misconceptions and wrongly construed that a girl is a burden on the family, though a modern approach has disproved such a myth.
Parents should ensure that a girl child is not neglected or ignored, nor treated as a third-grade person. The tendency needs to be condemned vehemently for the simple reason that boys should not be given any preferential treatment as compared to the treatment meted out to a girl child. If parents neglect their daughters, others will also not take kindly to her nor have any sympathy and concern for the hapless child.
It has been generally observed that the father of the girl is more considerate and sympathetic to her than the mother who has a weakness for her son. When discriminatory treatment is too much to bear for the girl, she is bound to react by way of unusual behaviour. It is often maintained that a mother has equal regard and consideration for her progeny, irrespective of sex, but in reality, the innocent girl is subjected to mental and physical torture (not actual torture). The feeling of unequal and. discriminatory behaviour enters the girl’s latent mind and, thus, she starts nurturing an ill will and hatred for her brother. Such mental reservations last a lifetime and imprints of such impressions are too deep to erase. The onus rests on parents for creating feuds between two children of the opposite sex.
Family is the eternal home of virtues and inculcation of active habits. When the growth period is marred by imprudent discriminatory behaviours, a child’s all-around development gets adversely affected.
The following suggestions may be tried to keep your girl child in a normal mental and physical frame:
• Never discriminate on the grounds of showering favours and meeting (just) demands.
• Never rebuke your daughter nor allow male children to deride, demean and insult her.
• Give her full freedom as to her choice of food, dress, play and timings.
• Do not fetter her freedom of expression, even if oblique, nor outrightly reject her, even reasonable demands, with a dictatorial fiat. If you do so, you will simply retard her mental faculties.
• Never condemn, deride, insult or rebuke her in the presence of others, as it will take away her initiative and blunt her genius.
• Provide her with all playthings, toys, and means of entertainment. At least she must be provided with, what is offered to her brother.
• Dining table should be utilised as a joyous occasion for get-togethers, where no problems should be discussed. Let the child play when she plays and eat while she eats.
• Keep a watchful eye over your daughter’s friend circle, the places she visits, and the hours she spends at school and home. The parents must lend her a helping hand in solving her study-related and personal problems.
• Never engage your young one in arduous domestic chores nor expect her to sacrifice her leisure and rest time. She should be taught to spend proportionate time on light homework, eating, relaxation, entertainment and rest. None of the aspects should be neglected or sacrificed for the other.
• Have your daughter medically checked up after every 2-3 months and even earlier, if the situation demands.
• Do not let her venture into hazardous sports, or activities, in handling electrical and mechanical gadgets, fire, water, gas etc. She should gently be guided about the dangers involved therein.
• Never criticize your daughter’s friends and classmates or her habits, choice of colours, dress etc.
Your parental care, love and affection will serve her as an excellent tonic and will ensure her all-around progress and growth. Remember, a happy and healthy girl child means a happy and healthy family. It is the girl, who develops into a young woman, and finally to motherhood.
The mothers must not forget that they too, had passed through the same stage from which their daughter is passing now. Your approach should be persuasive, friendly, motivating and educative—there is no other option. Some parents build up fear psychosis in little girl’s minds, simply to tame and control them, and this must be avoided. The child should never be expected to share the worries and anxieties of her parents rather, if the child is tense, every effort should be made to relieve her anxiety and mental burden.
The parents should first set an example by their conduct, before preaching or admonishing their child, whose mind is tender unbiased, simple non-committal and pure. Let the child enjoy enough of freedom to have her say and way, provided such factors do not prove detrimental and injurious to her body, mind and intellect.