The Basic Needs In Childhood
“What are the basic needs in childhood? What should children definitely not lack? ” These are the questions that all mothers and fathers ask themselves when they become parents for the first time. Just read on and find out which basic needs are the cornerstones for the healthy development of your children.
T.Berry Brazelton and Stanley I. Greenspan have no doubt what are the basic needs that should definitely be met in childhood. They claim that by ensuring these basic needs you are laying the foundation for how your child will develop intellectually, socially, and emotionally.
The basic needs in childhood
1. Security
Children should grow up in a healthy environment that offers them security and maintains their health. We understand the term security to mean all basic needs that ensure survival: clothing, accommodation, healthy nutrition, medical care, protection, etc.
In addition, security also has an emotional aspect. Situations that seem simple or insignificant to us adults can be distressing and frightening for children. It is also important that we help our children understand their feelings.
2. The basic needs in childhood regarding affective relationships
It is important that children are not brought up through punishment alone. Your words and actions should encourage trust and respect. The way in which family bonds are formed and maintained also has an impact on the emotional development of your children.
Psychologists like Anna Freud or Erik Erikson emphasize that children need an education that does not only consist of showing them their mistakes. Rather, parenting should build solid affective relationships that give them a sense of security.
In addition, Brazelton and Greenspan suggest that affective dimensions such as emotional interactions and warmth promote central nervous system development in babies and young children. During childhood, the most important learning experiences occur through physical contact and human interaction.
3. Stability and consistency are also basic needs in childhood
Children need clear and consistent rules and instructions. So the “good cop, bad cop” method is not a good approach to education. Rather, parents should act as a unit. It is important that both parents agree on how to raise the children and what values they want to convey to them.
In addition, children should grow up in a stable environment in which they feel secure and at home. The home should be peaceful, affective, and understanding. In addition, family members should build and maintain trusting relationships with one another.
4. Free time
All children should have free time and time to play. This basic need is just as important as any other. In their free time, the children can leave everyday life behind and try something new. Leisure time also has a positive influence on our mood and feelings. Therefore, free time also has a positive effect on children’s development.
In his book Valuable Leisure Time, Manuel Cuenca says that leisure time expands and strengthens our social, physical, and intellectual resources, especially among children.
5. Physical activity
In recent years it has become more and more common for children to have a predominantly sedentary lifestyle. This is not only because their games and pastimes have changed, but also the way they communicate and interact with each other.
As a result , they no longer have to leave home to keep in touch with their friends. You can text each other or video chat anytime, all of which you can do while you are at home.
The lack of physical activity of many children is a serious problem for health experts today. Sports scientists José Devís and Carmen Pieró fear that future generations will suffer more from cardiovascular diseases due to today’s lack of exercise.
Therefore, parents, teachers and school principals should make sure that the children exercise regularly and do sports. Physical activity is one of the basic needs in childhood, so everyone involved should ensure that it is met.
Parents, as well as teachers, have a responsibility to teach children a lifestyle in which they exercise regularly and be physically active. This serves both the physical and mental health of the children.
6. Education
Education plays an important role in our place in the world and how we move about in it. Education is certainly one of the basic human needs. We learn how we behave in society and which norms we have to follow in order to be part of society.
Therefore, from an early age, children should receive high-quality education that explains how the world works and how they can live in it. A good education is a very good prerequisite for taking a place in society.
Of course, there are numerous influences in the children’s environment that have a decisive effect on their development. Children have myriad needs as they grow up. Still, there is no doubt that the basic needs of all children must definitely be met.
