Response of mothers to deal with aggressive behaviours of their 3 – 6 years old children

DOI: 10.18173/2354-1075.2021-0116

Abstract

This study examined the effect of maternal behaviours on 3 – 6 years old children who had aggressive behaviour. Using the mixed-method, the study surveyed and interviewed the mothers of 124 preschoolers in Nam Dinh province, Vietnam. The results showed that more 1\5 of participants assessed that their children exhibited medium and high levels of aggressive behavior. Most mothers chose strict discipline such as threaten, scolding their children, punish, and spanking. Although these behaviours of mothers have contributed to limit the children’s aggression quickly, they can have negative effect on children’s development in the future. Other mothers chose gentle behaviors such as listening to their children explain and sharing with them; gently talk to the children about their feelings and dissatisfaction with their behaviors; and ignore, pretend not to care about the children’s behaviors. However, they could not ensure the principles of education, so there was no the desired educational effect. The finding will be the basis for educators to build appropriate measures to help children develop their personalities from the preschool age.