‘Humans have the longest childhood’

It’s important that parents devote time, attention to their children in this crucial period, expert says

Humans have the longest childhood and their upbringing has to be a combination of both nature and nurture, according to Dr Rajeshree Singhania, neurodevelopmental paediatrician, Singhania Children’s Clinic, Dubai.

Parental attention, she said, is a biological need for children and research indicates that children below four to five years need parental attention every 10 minutes or so.

The causes for parental inattention in this part of the world mainly stem from the fact that, in many cases, both parents are working, said Dr Singhania. Also, gadgets such as smart phones and video games have become the new nanny. Excessive use of gadgets has been associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] and autism in children, she said.

Quality or quantity?

“Parents may be spending time with children, but it is not quality time. They are either reprimanding them or helping with homework — that is not quality time. There has to be social, interactive, reciprocal engagement about something positive, something the child enjoys.” Dr Singhania said.

“Studies have shown that social, reciprocal communication in the first year of life is crucial to the infant’s development, and at around seven years of age, plays a pivotal role in language and verbal skills, as well as intelligence. This can take place through interactive play — board games, for example — or an engaging conversation.”

It is crucial to a child’s selfesteem that he or she is made to realise they are wanted and needed by parents, so that the feeling of abandonment does not ensue, she stressed.

Children, said Dr Singhania, seek attention from parents. “If they don’t get that attention, then subconsciously they try to do negative things to seek attention. The unruly, difficult behaviour is actually attention-seeking behaviour.

“Parents come in to the clinic for other reasons but often lack of quality time with children is contributing to that problem. For example, I did a research paper on 200 children and in 39 per cent of the cases of children with ADHD, both of the parents were working.”

In the first two years of, there should be no screen time, said Dr Singhania. “Interactive talking and playing with their baby is the key to better development whether language, intelligence of a sense of security. In fact, the American Academy of Paediatrics recommends no screen time at this age. “In older children, each parent should spend at least 15 minutes separately with each child in a day. This is apart from time spent doing homework or telling them to do a chore or reprimanding them. We are talking about having fun together, doing something of the child’s choice, not of the parents’.”

Neurodevelopmental paediatrician