Responsibility means that a person assumes the consequences of behaviors and events that fall within his field of responsibility. Responsibility is taught to the child through examples, starting from infancy and early childhood. The feeling of responsibility cannot be created through force, the child must internalize this feeling. At this stage, communication and discipline within the family have an important place. Discipline is the individual's awareness of his responsibilities and acceptance of their natural and social consequences in his life. It is necessary to clearly teach the child his own freedom areas and certain basic rules starting from the preschool period. For example, while the child has the freedom to distribute his toys as he wishes while playing in his room, he should also be responsible for collecting them when he is finished playing. However, one of the biggest mistakes made here is that when the child does not collect his toys, the caregiver does this job instead. With this behavior, the child learns that he will not have to face the consequences of not fulfilling his own responsibilities and that someone else will take on his responsibilities instead. As a result of this learning, the child shows behavior of avoiding responsibilities and generalizes this. While teaching the child responsibilities, rules established in a certain order at home will be helpful. For example, washing hands before and after eating, having a routine bedtime, brushing teeth before going to bed, preparing the school bag the night before, etc. Before expecting the child to fulfill his responsibilities in this area; It is important to explain to the child in a way that he can understand what is his responsibility, how he should do it, and what consequences he may face if he does or does not do it.
One of the most important issues in gaining responsibility is the attitude of the parents and their communication with the child. If the attitude adopted during this period is excessive tolerance, that is, unconditional acceptance of everything, in other words, lack of discipline, the child may develop selfishness and antisocial behavior. Some of these behaviors; There may be disrespect for others' space, carrying out whatever is on your mind at the moment, and insensitivity to the consequences of your actions on others. Another attitude to be adopted during this period is excessive authority over the child and oppressive behavior. When there is a strict discipline, different problems may be encountered. Some of these problems may be that the child develops a dependent individual trait or a rebellious individual trait. It is possible for these individuals to develop emotions such as anger, hatred, resentment or fear towards the authoritarian person (parent).
In order for children to internalize a healthy responsibility and discipline, parents must display an attitude based on love. It should not be forgotten that children gain most of their knowledge by observing their environment and especially their family members, and family members should fulfill their responsibilities at this stage. While teaching children responsibility, it is important to open a space of freedom for them by leaving them the tasks that are defined as their responsibility in this field and to enable them to learn from the consequences of their behavior.
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