The years between the ages of 0 and 3 are the most valuable period in which the foundations of personality and mental health are laid. If the child cannot receive love and attention from his mother during these years, he may experience irreparable deficiencies in the following years. That's why in many developed countries, mothers are considered to be on leave for a year after giving birth. They are also entitled to three years of unpaid leave. Because at this age, the investment in the child is considered above all else.
In the first three years, the compassion, care and care that the mother will show is necessary not only for the child but also for the mother herself. Because motherhood is not only an innate behavior, but also a skill that is learned through experience. Motherhood develops a woman's personality and matures her.
Let's look at the mother-child relationship and child mental health through the language of experiments. Many experiments have been conducted to investigate the behavior of children separated from their mothers. French pedagogue Dr. Spitz's experiment on one hundred and twenty-three children is quite interesting. The researcher separated children of different ages from their mothers for certain periods of time and recorded their behavior. The results he obtained are listed as follows;
-The infant, who has been separated from his mother for a month, constantly whines and cries, and whoever gets close to him and shows interest, hugs him and does not want to let go. If the child encounters a good-hearted person who will replace the mother during this period, he will get used to him without experiencing much depression. If this woman is a breastfeeding woman, it will be easier for the child to get used to her.
-If the child's stay away from the mother exceeds two months, changes in her behavior begin to occur. He is no longer interested in anyone who approaches him, he runs away from strangers, shows signs of fear when someone tries to approach him, cries out desperately, his appetite decreases, it is difficult to soothe and please the child.
-When the separation from the mother has completed three months, the child enters the mourning period. enters. Just as he is not interested in anyone, he does not show signs of fear towards strangers, does not cry or whine, and sinks into a deep silence. He withdraws into his own inner world. His nutrition and sleep patterns are disrupted, his gait is like a sleepwalker, he cannot react to stimuli, he has frequent accidents, his wounds heal slowly, his body resistance decreases. He gets sick faster than he shows any signs of illness.
-The situation becomes even worse in his fourth month. His facial expression becomes dull, he becomes pale, he sits for hours with his eyes fixed on a fixed point, he wakes up screaming at night, his cries are in the form of shouts.
The result of the experiment emphasizes the effect of the parent on the child. In addition, the earlier the child is separated from the mother, the earlier the probability of experiencing problems will begin.
Research has shown that the mental health of children growing up in the hands of strangers, away from their mother's arms, suffers serious injuries. Even if the child's material needs are met in the most modern way, the child cannot reach sufficient spiritual maturity and his personality development is disrupted.
Read: 0
