The child acquires selfishness as a result of being neglected by members of the family to which he belongs, and begins by paying attention to himself and their things to compensate for the neglect he or she suffers or becomes selfish as a result of being unduly pampered, feeling that he or she is the basis for everything in life and Selfishness in the child may be a result of imitating their relatives or peers.
Effective steps to treat child selfishness:
Seeking reasons for acting selfishly:
Treatment for child selfishness is based on understanding the reasons behind it, and can be known by observing the child’s behavior and times of acting selfishly, meaningful questions can also be asked of the child (Dear Mohammed why don’t you want your friend to share games with you? Do you like to share your friend Sammy cutting candy? Why? ”
Enhancing the child’s compassion:
It is essential for the child to learn how to empathize with the individuals around him or her and to feel their feelings, by referring to the feelings and personal characteristics of those around him or her in an indirect and degrading manner.
(Dear Mohammed, your friend Rami is a generous person. I noticed that he shared his own colors with his friends.)
Praise for the child’s unselfish behavior:
Natural children tend to praise and love hearing it, so we can exploit this innate willingness and devote it to promoting behaviors that are far from selfish.
(My beloved Muhammad I feel proud of you for being a generous child I noticed that you shared your crayons with your friend Ali.)
Selfless behaviors in the child’s view are:
Children are their parents’ first role models in life and often imitate their parents and follow their example in words and deeds. Therefore, parents must be careful in their actions and statements in front of the child so as not to acquire selfishness and tend to be more humane in dealing with others. (Let’s share with our neighbors the candy dish that I made today.)
In the end, children are the responsibility of their parents and must monitor their children’s actions and modify unwanted behaviors at an early age, especially the characteristic of selfishness, and devote time to cultivating noble values, humanity, love of help and participation with others in the child.
