Positive Attention and your Baby: Conquer the Hurdles

Offering positive attention to your child is the best way to encourage his development. It is a healthy way to communicate the behaviour you expect from them. Also, giving an encouraging response boosts a child’s confidence.

Children, who get a positive response to their needs and demands at home, feel more valued and turn out to become progressive individuals. Criticism or negligence can make them withdraw into a shell and become a cynical adult.

In the same way, babies can also feel unwanted and unloved, if you do not respond to their cries and little gestures. Thus, it becomes vital for parents to connect with their children on a regular basis in a loving manner. There are different verbal and non-verbal means of expressing positive attention to your child.

Importance of Positive Attention

• Positive attention is nothing, but a way to show appreciation and delight towards your child’s behaviour. This fosters warmth in the relationship with your children and they feel loved and cared.
• A child’s self-esteem is built with positive remarks, responses and loving messages from his parents and other key family members. This makes him feel capable of bringing pleasure to others and boosts up his morale and confidence.
• A child faces challenges in different spheres of his life. If he gets intimidated by any unfamiliar situation, he looks up to his family members for support and assurance. This faith, in turn gives him the strength to face the challenges in a more organised way.

Overcoming Obstacles in the Path of Positive Attention

• Life in present times, is full of personal and financial responsibilities. Unforeseen changes in lifestyle like job change, shifting to a new place or even planning a family occasion, drains the energy and leaves you distracted or depressed. If you feel overwhelmed with these negative emotions, instead of distancing yourself from your child, discuss your problems and situations with your partner or friends to let the emotions out. Do not let your relationship with your baby suffer because of any of these problems.
• Work related stress is another common obstacle in the way of building positive attention with your children. Always make sure that you leave your work stress at office and try to spend quality time with your children. Make positive interactions with them and get energised with the warmth in your relationship.

Show Positive Attention to your Baby

• Children like getting attention right from the time they are born. Even newborns tend to learn from and communicate with their surrounding environment. Positive interaction during this time is very beneficial for the baby. In the infant stage, you can communicate your love by hugging, comforting, smiling back and responding to the sounds of your little one. Your baby is going to love every bit of it and this will make him feel secured in the environment.
• As your baby grows older, the positive attachment takes the form of encouraging words and actions. Engage in constructive activities with your children and encourage them with affirmative remarks. Pay attention towards them and show your participation through smile, eye contact or even thumbs up.

Positive attention gives a form of security to the child, that helps him to become a responsible and compassionate adult. By learning to build positive interactions, you will be able to nurture the bond of love and trust with your child.