No
parent would want to imagine that their child would grow up to enjoy hurting others.
This is therefore an area that parents do not like to think of but sociopaths
are real in our society and their journey started somewhere. Every parent
therefore needs to be on the lookout so as to prevent their child from being a
sociopath in future. Here are some tips a parent can use to prevent their child
from becoming a sociopath.
1.
Keep your child away from any kind of abuse
Children should not be subjected to abuse of any kind.
Abuse accounts to any form of violence. It can either be molesting them or
children growing up with violent parents who keep on hurting their child. This
kind of an exposure can make a child to grow up to be a sociopath thinking that
causing other people harm is acceptable. Again, such children might grow up
angry and hateful of people and might end up hurting others in future to take
revenge of what happened to them when they were growing up.
2.
Be an available parent
There is nothing as important as a child having a
consistent parent or guardian when they are growing up. A parent who is always there for the child gives them direction on how they are supposed to live with others. When a child grows up without a parent available for them,
that child might grow up to be a sociopath. This is because no parent was there
to monitor their behavior consistently while they were growing up. Children who grow up
in foster care, children homes or moving from one relative to another might end
up having sociopathic tendencies for they might be dealing with anger towards their parents for abandoning them.
3.
Encourage play with peers
This is an issue that parents need to be careful about in
this 21st century parenting for we are living in a digital age.
Children are exposed to mobile phones and computers as early as after birth.
Parents need to be careful not to provide their children with all video games
and cartoons that they want so that they don’t get out of the house. This
situation deprives a child social skills for the child is always on a screen
without real people. Parents should allow their children to play with peers so
that they can know how to interact with real people. Children who grow up
without having interaction with peers are at a high risk of becoming sociopaths
since they never learnt how to co-exist with people.
4.
Discover bad behavior and deal with it as soon as you notice it
Adults who are sociopaths started by trying violence when
they were growing up. Some children might enjoy torturing an animal, fighting
peers, bullying peers or any other violent act. Such a child can in future
become a sociopath. It is therefore important for the parent to be keen and
ensure that their child is stopped from such acts of violence immediately they
are noticed. If a parent is not able to deal with their child, they can
seek professional intervention so as to prevent the child from enjoying hurting
others in future.
5.
Encourage sibling bonding
Siblings should be the first friends a child should have
while they are growing up. Sibling relation gives an opportunity for a child to
learn various social skills like kindness, empathy and protecting each other.
If a child cannot relate well with their siblings that child is at a higher
risk of engaging in antisocial behaviors. For parents who have large families,
they should be careful not to pay attention to some of the children so as the
they do not feel as if they are struggling to gain their parents attention.
Such children who are less supervised by their parents just because there are
younger siblings to take care of, are at a higher risk of becoming sociopaths.
6.
Teach your child to differentiate right from wrong
When a child is growing, they are usually in a road to
discovering things about life. With the home being the first place a child gets
socialized, the parents should ensure that the child is socialized well. A
parent should always make sure they are careful of what their child is doing so
that they guide them accordingly. If a child does something wrong, a parent should
make sure that the child is aware that they have done something wrong. This
way, they will differentiate right from wrong and would refrain from hurting
anyone in future.
7.
Punish your child when necessary
There are those times when a child is already aware that
doing a certain act is wrong but decides to do it anyway. It is at this point
that the parent should bring punishment in the picture. Punishment does not
have to cause physical pain but it can also be deprivation of some privileges
that a child enjoys for some time. However, parents should be careful not to
punish their children without explaining to them why they are doing so for it
would be considered abuse and might destroy the child.
8.
Do not expose a child to inappropriate acts
Children are not supposed to see sociopathic acts when
they are growing up. Parents should be careful not to be bad examples
to their children. For parents who fight or are in toxic relationships, they
should be careful not to expose their inappropriate acts to their child for the
child might grow up thinking hurting others is okay. Such parents should look
for ways the child can be raised up somewhere else or just separate rather than
live together and make their child a sociopath in future.
9.
Never give up on your child
There are those children who basically will not follow
instructions even when you tell them over and over again. A parent should try
and be close to such a child and praise them for the few good deeds they do
other than concentrating on what they are doing wrong. This can make a child to
always want to do good so as they can be praised. However, if the parent has
tried all means with no success, they should look for professional
intervention to help their child.
©Joyce Mwai
Writer/ Parenting Coach/ Teenagers Mentor
