STRESS MANAGEMENT

 AGGRESSION IN CHILDREN

Aggression can be described as any behavior that is forceful, hostile, destructive or violent. Its intended to harm, injure or damage a person or a target object. It can be normal, and can only be identified as a disease when it becomes excessive, or makes us harm other people. Aggression in humans can be blamed on several things that may affect the growth and development of the mind. Such triggers include fear, family difficulties, emotional trauma and the media.

There can be many causes leading to aggression in children including watching television being one of the major causes , still it does not significantly or solely cause aggression but there are other factors help in the development of aggressive behaviors although the television cannot be ruled out to contribute slightly.

Children learn behaviors through watching and imitating others peoples’ behaviour as they try to equate with them. Watching the violence on the television is suggested to slightly increase violent behaviors in children,

although those who already have violent behaviour get greatly influenced by the media as they try learning defensive

ways to protect themselves from any aggression.

Aggression is influenced in children through swearing, shouting, throwing and kicking whatever is around

them and it thus needs to be measured to determine its levels for the proper control measures to be taken so

as to avoid further injury.

The measurement can be done using a checklist, observation for any noticeable changes in the previously

known behavior; a comparison scale may as well be used to determine the aggression levels.

Aggression in children is learned through enactive learning of behavior as well as observation learning by

watching others. In cases where parents resolve differences through fights the children learn to use

aggression as a way of dominating over others from their early days and carry on with this behavior to their

later lives.

Aggression portrayed in the television is just but fantasized by children but in actual sense has minimal

contribution to aggression and other related violent behaviors evident in children.

Causes of Aggression-

Aggression in children results from very many factors that affect them as they grow up. Some of these

include:

-Adult expectations and being subjected to either severe discipline or a lenient approach.

-Unfulfilled human needs and other personal desires are the one of the leading causes of aggression in children. The desire for children to own what their parents cannot afford like being in a fancy home, getting education from expensive schools in relation to their peers and other desires result to aggression towards

those children whose parents are able to afford such luxuries. Children should therefore be taught to be realistic in life and get content with whatever is available to them.

-Stressful life events (birth or death of a family member, school-related issues, change of residence, family dislocation or change in family structure).

-Aggression is not part of human life, but it is a reaction to circumstances that frustration on the acquisition of

basic needs that have not been fulfilled.

-Pain and discomforts caused to children by their parents and other elder people in an attempt to discipline them may cause aggressive behaviors to be manifested since the child cannot fight back but will direct their anger and frustration to other children of their age or young than them who cannot fight them back.

It is thus important to understand their pain is a light manner. Hot environmental conditions trigger discomforts

that make children aggressive.

-Frustration is a major cause of aggression in children; children whose achievements do not much with those

of their peers are usually frustrated and end up into aggressive behaviors so as to cover up for their failures.

This may either in school or other social activities where children are competing.

-Birth complications increase aggressive behavior latter in childhood though there is direct link. Aggressive

behavior develops when birth complications combine with other factors such as disadvantaged families that cannot fully provide for their children and poor parenting. Birth complications are believed to result to damage in the nervous system that affects the brain function. Neurological problems such as learning disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or autism.

This is referred to as brain dysfunction. Impaired brain function predisposes the child to aggressive

behaviors later in their lives because their brain is poorly functioning. 

Brain dysfunction results to aggression when the prefrontal region of the brain which controls and regulates

emotional reactions is functioning poorly and cannot keep aggressive impulses in check. This results to increased likelihood of aggressive acts.

Some situational factors such as exposure to alcohol impair ones judgment on making decisions. 

-Consumption of alcohol disrupts the information making processes and this is even serious in children who get drunk they view an event as a purposeful one, and act more aggressively.

Children who are desperate in live tend to be more aggressive. Desperation can be a result of massive poverty, crime or even violence situations within the community where the child is being raised in.

Consequences of Aggression-

-Aggression has both positive and negative consequences to both the individual and those around them. One

of the positive elements of aggression is that it preserves and protects an individual from other aggressive

individuals; it also helps the child to increase their dominance in the social environment through suppressing

their peers and subjecting them to their way of thinking.

-The negative consequences of aggression are worse to both the responsible and the victim. Children who are aggressive in school are more likely to be rejected by their peers because they cannot accept to be dominated

by them. In worst cases aggression can result fines, loss of freedom due imprisonment. Such cases make the

affected person even more aggressive and can engage in criminal acts.

-Aggression makes the victim lack confidence and trust with themselves because others are belittling them.

This makes them develop aggressive behaviors as they try to cope with the aggressor .

The child within a school setup lacks trust with every around them since they view all the other people as

untrustworthy and out to oppress them. This makes them feel unsafe and - Aggressors have a lower

intellectual achievement in their academic live because their mind cannot concentrate on one specific

activity rather their minds are spread across a number of activities.

Control of Aggression-

-Aggression can be controlled by giving children positive attention for desired behaviors so as to reinforce it.

-Recognise the reason for aggression: If a child’s aggression is often directed towards the parents, then according to child psychologists it is most likely that the kids are unable to express their feelings of helplessness, anxiety or anger in a right manner to their parents. Hence they do it with aggression and are most likely to hit, push, kick, and yell. The best way to help them is to make them realise to express their emotions through words and not through aggression.

-Allow children to be calm: Often when children become aggressive, they hardly listen to anyone around them. In this situation, instead of spanking them, just stay calm and allow them to cool off. This way parents can control the situation and will be able to speak to the kids in a better way. After your child has calmed down from a temper tantrum, speak to him/her gently. Ask him/her what was bothering and why. The kids need to be taught how to label and manage feelings such as anger.

-Parents and children caretakers should always realize that anger is a common emotion in children and the

way to deal with it determines the levels of aggression in children.

-Parents should be good role models when their children display aggressive behaviors. By becoming upset

and angry when dealing with an aggressive child makes them more aggressive.

-By providing many physical activities such as exercise and outside play helps aggressive children to direct

their energies to better and more constructive activities and avoid releasing unwanted emotions.

-Violent television programs and toys that encourage aggressive behavior such as the guns, sticks should be

eliminated. Children usually imitate what they see rather than what they are told so through avoiding some

activities that may escalate and promote aggression and redirect these children to appropriate activities.

-To cut defiant behavior and replace it with positive experience parents should be able to play with their

children, learn how to recognize and respond to their needs and develop and mend the relationship.

This will help them identify any unwanted aggressive behaviors that may develop due to the feeling of being

neglected, some parents do not play with their children and need to learn how to connect with them,

recognize and respond to their needs in the most appropriate way.

-Rules and commands should be explicit, constant, firm and brief. Children learn their mistakes through comparing the past to the present mistakes and how they where dealt with it is thus important to approach a similar way of administering punishments for similar mistakes without differences. 

Conclusion-

Human beings are not born violent but rather bent towards brutality and self-destruction due to their

aggressive behaviors. Aggression is usually a result of unfair environments that frustrate and degrade the

human dignity. It’s difficult to eliminate aggression entirely but can be reduced through the creation of free

societies that encourage prosperity by providing moral education to the young people and clearly explaining

to them that aggression has no importance in the long-term.

The television should not be fully ignored as a cause towards aggressiveness in children but the society must

play a communal role in providing a good environment that does not promote frustration in the lives of the

young children. 

Parents should ensure that they provide their children with almost all the basic needs within their reach and

spare enough time to relate with their children so as to learn them as well as discover any aggressive

behaviors that may be developing and stop them before they get to distractive levels.