Abstract
The behavioral problems among children in rural Nepal include not paying attention in studies, addiction, anger and fights, disobedience and stealing. The main cause of the problems involved family environments. However, other causes include negative peer influence, too much of attention or lack of it, not being able to fulfill one's needs, poverty, lack of appropriate school environment. Strategy used by teachers in managing the behavioral problem of their students is through having a conversation with then, ensuring moral education is well accounted for and providing necessary guidance, however, where verbal communication fails, parents and teachers guide their children through physical punishment, the so called, ‘beating for betterment’ among children in rural Nepal. Interventions feasible to address the problems include interaction between a parent and a child among others as highlighted in this essay. The main aim of this report is to highlight behavioral problems, analyze potential causes of the behavioral problems, look into the strategies used by parents and teachers and finally highlight interventions feasible to address behavioral problems identified among children in rural Nepal.
Behavioral problems among children in rural Nepal
The main behavioral problems according to the report include not paying attention in studies, addiction, anger and fights, disobedience and stealing (Adhikari et al., 2015). Children who were reported not be paying attention dropped out of school, they never attended school on a regular basis, were not interested in education, never did their homework in a proper manner, skipped classes, often failed their examinations, more interested in games compared to studies and they were also reported to be watching a lot television rather than studying.
Children, who were reported with addictive behaviors according to the report drunk a lot of alcohol and smoked excess marijuana and cigarettes among other drugs. Among all the behavioral problems, ‘addiction’ was considered to be prevalent among the children who used foul language in their expression, threatened or fought other people and aimlessly roamed around the neighborhood. Children who were reported with stealing problems had economic issues. These problems involved not being able to meet the basic requirements which include clothing, food, medicine and school materials. Children who got easily angry and engaged in fights over small issues where reproved to be having both addictive problems as well as the lack of sufficient concentration in class; they were among the children who never paid attention in their studies.
The causes of these problems
There were several reported causes to these problems. The main cause, however, revolved around family environments. Family and household issues involved having to take a lot of time doing household chores, not being able to access sufficient supervision or care from parents since most were busy at work, having a lot of siblings to look after in the house, having no parents, parents with alcohol problems and fights, and not being given the chance to participate in communal activities. Other causes of these problems included negative peer influence, too much of attention or lack of it, not being able to fulfill one's needs, poverty, lack of appropriate school environment.
Unfavorable family environment included domestic abuse, discrimination, alcohol abuse, and domestic violence. According to the report, parents are supposed to be responsible for the development of their children. However, due to lack of sufficient support and guidance, children who were neglected or socially isolated or even ostracized were reported to be victims of behavioral problems in Nepal. However, other children were reported to have livelihood challenges as well as the lack of time for studies, whereas others simply ignored managing their time as a result of their personal behavior and attitude; whichever the case, both were victims of behavioral problem.
Strategies used by parents and teachers to manage child’s behavioral problems
As often seen in many cases, teaching children with behavior problems often created high demands. According to the report, parents and teachers had difficulty in managing the behavioral problems of their children. According to the report, the one strategy used by teachers in managing the behavioral problem of their students is through having a conversation with them, ensuring moral education is well accounted for and providing necessary guidance. At times, however, both parents and teachers use the strategy of punishing their children physically. In Nepal, one common concept is ‘beating for betterment,' a practice that continues in most communities.
Parents, on the other hand, either verbally talked to their children or travelled to the schools and inquired help from the teachers in form of verbal discussion with the aim of correcting the behaviors of their child. Where verbal communication fails, parents teach their kids through physical punishment. Other strategies involved community members being involved in matters of a child’s behavior, and reports were often past to parents and teachers by the community members regarding the behavior of a child. Children require parents supportive interaction with their children, parents should provide a stimulating environment, and they should also meet the basic needs as well as ensure the provision of appropriate leisure activities in order to reduce child behavioral problems.
Types of interventions feasible to address the problems identified among children in rural Nepal
A child’s characteristics are essential in understanding and addressing the behavioral problems, in others, however, parent-family factor may be essential. As a child develops dispute, the gravity of his or her problems increases, at this point interaction between the parent and the child is essential. For prevention and intervention efforts to be successful, there is a need for comprehensive and systematic emphasis on the contributory factors –the child, the parent, parent-child interactions as well as factors beyond family, which includes peer groups, teachers, and the community.
Drawing from the literature reviewed from the report the following intervention can be essential in addressing the problems identified among children in rural Nepal; establishing prevention efforts which should not be limited to a single time frame of development. A study in development reveals that interventions designed to a single point of a child’s development cannot be effective in long term (Sanders et al., 2000). Intervention programs are paradoxically most likely to revert when the child and the family slips into their previous circumstance when treatment is stopped. This phenomenon can assist in explaining why several delinquencies, as well as substance abuse treatment programs, have unstable results.
References
Adhikari, R. P., Upadhaya, N., Gurung, D., Luitel, N. P., Burkey, M. D., Kohrt, B. A., & Jordans, M. J. (2015). Perceived behavioral problems of school aged children in rural Nepal: a qualitative study. Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health, 9(1), 25.
Sanders, M. R., Markie-Dadds, C., Tully, L. A., & Bor, W. (2000). The triple P-positive parenting program: a comparison of enhanced, standard, and self-directed behavioral family intervention for parents of children with early onset conduct problems. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 68(4), 624.
