A Beatle !

A battered flower in rain! But a Beatle stays on it!

One experience children in the pre-school years face is a battered environment!

Most homes area on an auto-pilot mode due to what parents have to juggle with several responsibilities. 

What I heard a three year old child whisper to his mother was, 'Will you have time for me to read to me at bed time!

I watched the mother becoming tearful on hearing this!

I heard the mother' story of having to do all the chores at home in the evening. By that time her son would have gone to sleep lying in the  sofa! She carries him to bed around 11 pm when she goes to bed tired and exasperated. 

It is sad to let a child go to sleep unattended! We increase the feeling of loneliness in pre-school children if they are left alone at that transition time between day and night! 

Most homes are at a edge on account o several pressures that come upon them due to the existential demands of daily living. 

Is it not true that young children who cannot make a fuss beyond a certain level for fear of getting punished, suppress their needs and suffer for want of what they look forward to each evening at bed time! To have father or mother beside in that transition time. 

For a child a day of activities come to eat end at bed time. Most children fear the evening as they have to stop their play and go to bed. It is beyond the capacity of a child under five years to think that a night of sleep is necessary for health and well-being. They like to prolong the day into night. 

During the interview with twenty-five  parents I met with last week, I asked all of them to find the bedtime practice fo their young children. The average time of under five children went to bed was ten pm and getting up at 7 am.! Although that was eight hours of sleep majority and interruptions during sleep.  

Most children who had interruptions were those who went to sleep on their own or resisted to go to sleep. 

Sleep time is a transition time. Most young children need help during such a transition time. Being with then at bedtime assures them. They let go of their desire to hang on to play more at night recedes form tis pre-occupation when they get private time with one of their parents when they can cuddle in the proximity of one of their parents. It is the same presence thy might expect when they get up to feel welcomed during the transition time to wakefulness. The in between times at bed time and getting up times are stressful times for children as they cannot fathom the details that lie ahead of them. If a family were to take a child to the  children's corner at home, rather than force the child for a milk drink which most children dread every morning, children might begin the day more cheerful. 

A beatle in a battered flower! 

A child in a battered environment of home!

Protect children during transition times! Moving from one activity to another for children is difficult. They require prior preparation and physical presence of one of the parents to adjust to the transition till they can think and feel on their own!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)