BOOK REVIEW (3) ON PROBLEM CHILDREN BY UDAY SHANKAR

This book on problem children is based on the study of over 400 Indian children indicating various social and emotional problems. It brings out the social conditions in Indian homes, which creates problem in children. The author of the book professor Uday Shankar is very senior educationist of both national and international eminence. He has over 50 research and other papers on problem children. In the process of growth and development of the child some set back or ill health is common experience. The author emphasise that it is important to help the parent accept the fact of the limited capacities of their children. With increased education and advancement, all those concerned with the welfare of the child, whether they are parents, teachers, and heads of institutions, probation officers, magistrates or medical men. A mentally challenged child being a subject of criticism of sibling or peers may become a problem child in the society. The importance of early childhood experiences in the determination of problems of adjustment. The child is not like a piece of plastic material which could turn into the finished product so we will handle the child carefully. Each child is born in different potentialities. Children are born as individuals and they become persons, with the effect of environmental forces. The child will spend more time in school or home it is more important

factor in the genesis of behaviour or personality difficulties. In the home the presence of parents, grandparents and other adults and siblings with their different or changing attitude creates various emotional crosscurrents. The parental quarrels or disharmony also leads their behavioural changes and childs development. In school the attitude of teachers and other school mates will affect their mental health. Some children run away to large cities in search of better fortunes and consequently resorts to rag picking, venting etc. Sometimes, the darker side of the society engulfs them. Trades like drug ridding, bootlegging and other illicit

activities including flesh trade, seem an easy way out in order to survive. Child abuse and neglect form yet another grim and ignored topic children fall at the receiving end of their parents frustration and anger. Always abuse only the innocent children. In a normal child, ego gets strengthened through normal intellectual achievement and superego gets stronger by the new identifications with a particular hero figure. The children like stealing, burglary, violence, vagrancy, gambling, sexual offences and other anti-social behaviour called delinquents. Delinquency is a rebellion and an expression of aggression which is aimed at destroying, breaking down or changing the environment. In todays age of competitiveness, children are pressurized about the aggressive demands of their parents. Whether child is unable to cope up, psychological imbalance may ensue. Media has powerful impact on the developing psyche of the child. Aggression in children is developed only that the children who are neglected in the family, a child faced with physical abuse from a drunkard father. Rebellion against authority is another form of aggression seen in offsprings of overbearing and over authoritative parents. Hyper activeness, restlessness and lack of concentration can stem from faulty training and inconsistent discipline. Lack of concentration and slow progress in academics may also be attributed to the physical ailments like defective vision, hearing which has been overlooked.

A child would be more imitative behaviour that child is short tempered. Stubborn and obstinate children display socially unacceptable behaviour which includes temper tantrums. The parent should give more sympathetic and should reduce the element of force to give place to more appreciation and encouragement to make the child overcome his tantrums. If the parents give offsprings of overprotective, overanxious or over dominant that childrens are shy, recessive or withdrawn children. Fear and anxiety in the child may be deep-rooted. By the presence of the parents the childs should overcome their imaginary fears. Among various behaviours and personality problems of children, they may display symptoms such as enuresis, insomnia, cyclic vomiting etc. The author attributes these as not real specific illness but mere manifestations of some disturbances in the individual as a whole. For example, psycho-analysis interprets enuresis as an expression of either infantile sexuality or unconscious erotic fantasy. Psychoanalysis regards fear and anxiety as a primary cause of stammering. The difficulties of speech include delay in learning to talk, disorders of articulation and stammering. From the point of view the individual psychology, stammering means of escape from the obligations of society. The aim of psychotherapy is to build self-confidence to strengthen the ego and to prepare the patient to overcome the far to talking. Using the therapeutic treatment or re-education and proper exercises the patient to build up letter, word and sentence would learn. The author said that sex like a food and also described other deviant sexual behaviours such as sexuality, bestiality, loose promiscuous life style and morbid tendencies, which include paedophilia and incest. The author recommends that the sexual matters to the growing child should be enlightened intelligently, pleasantly and methodically. The parents should observe the progress of child in sexual interest at the time they provide necessary information to the specific age group. Sex education and guidance is an important factor in the growing child.

The author feels that the need of the day is the child guidance centres, which include a teen consisting of psychiatrist/psychotherapist/psychiatric social worker/educational psychologist/speech therapist and a paediatrician. The psychiatrist should be trained for social therapy, which includes methods of adaptation to the demands of society in work and play. Guidance work is a team work. Once the interaction commences with the patient, regular follow up is essential where reports are send to parents/ guardians at regular intervals. This centre should also focused on parental education or counselling. The author concludes that the direct treatment, correction or education of the child, environmental adjustment requiring parental education, change of environment for the child or lastly legal measures are the various forms one has to deal with for successful psychotherapeutic results. Critical Evaluation:The defined the stages of development, why the childs behaviour is irritating to others. For their behaviour development what will do the parent. He also dealt with the importance of guidance centres. He should have illustrated one of the various classifications of behaviour. The author has not gone into depth into the etiologic and variables if the entire behavioural problem encountered.