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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : March 20, 2015 6:27 PM IST
Actress Katie Holmes says she wrestles with moments of self-doubt as a parent. But believes that parents should give their best to raising their children. 'Am I enough? Am I doing enough? Have I seen her enough?' people.com quoted the mother of eight-year-old Suri as saying. (Read: Can astrology make you a better parent?)
'Guess what? You're not enough, she hasn't seen you enough, you're horrible. That's how it can feel sometimes,' she added. But she has a suggestion. 'You do the best you can. Some days you feel really good about yourself and some days you don't,' she said. (Read: Why working mums should practise guilt-free parenting)
How much time does your child need from you?
There is no definitive answer to this question as one can never associate the time with a specific number of hours. One should keep in mind that children below four years of age need their parents or at least the mother or a primary caregiver around them for most part of the day and night. As the child grows he might need his parents less, however this depends on a child s emotional needs to feel secure and safe. No two children are alike and so their needs will largely be different, advises Dr Pavan Sonar, consultant psychiatrist, Riddhivinayak Hospital, Mumbai. Ideally parents have to gauge the needs of their children carefully and make sure that either one of them is there with the child when he needs emotional support or some morale boosting.
How do parents realise that their kids need more time with them?
This is tricky but not a difficult one especially for parents. This comes from experience and is an intrinsic quality of being a parent. Parents are the best people to judge their children s temperament and gauge their needs. However, this can only be possible if the parent has spent quality time with the kid during the first formative four years, explains Dr Sonar. Here are a few signs that might indicate that your child needs a little more attention from you.
Failing health: No one can take care of your child as you can and your little one knows it.
Irritable and aggressive: If your otherwise playful infant shows signs of irritability and gets aggressive out of the blue, this is a mode of communication that babies and toddlers resort to. They might suffer from separation anxiety more and become very clingy.
Loss of appetite and sleep: These symptoms might not always signal a physiological problem but can stem from a psychological need.
In the case of a young adult the signs can be a bit different:
Read more about Are you spending enough time with your kids?
With inputs from IANS
Photo source: Getty images
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