Question

2. When counseling children under the age of 10 for possible dysfunctional behavior, should it be mandatory for parents to also be assessed and at least briefly be involved in counseling as well either with the children or individually?

I believe if the children are going through counseling, then the parent should as well. The parent needs be aware of the situation and how they can best handle their children. They need to be informed so they can help the child to the best of their abilities. If they only send their child to counseling then they are unaware of how the child is being told how to handle their selves and when the child comes home, the parent may contradict what the child is learning in counseling. They need to be on the same page. Although, I do believe that the child and parent should be in it together and be in the same room, so the child can express their feelings and the parent will be aware. I also think that the parent should get counseling without the child as well, and the child should get counseling without the parent as well, but both are getting feedback from the others session. This way if the child isn't being 100% open due to the parent being there, this way they can open up freely without feeling the parents judgment or seeing their facial expressions and reactions to certain things. All in all, yes the parent should be involved.

Response one paragraph with agreeing to it. Thanks

Answer 1

I think it is important to have the involvement of parents while counseling children under the age of 10 for dysfunctional behavior. A child's primary social world is at home with parents and other family members and after that, at school with other children and teachers. Below the age of 10 especially, the major security and validation a child seeks is from his parents. A child's social, emotional and behavioral needs and patterns are highly influenced by his/her parents as the child is primarily raised by the parents. By counseling parents and assessing them, a counselor can know which the parenting patterns and the family dynamics as well and can help the parents in suggesting some home strategies and interventions that can be adopted or changed for the child's development.

Early intervention is the best intervention, therefore I feel, collectively allowing the fostering and nurturing environment to a child will help the child in his development.

It is also important that parents practice what they preach, as the child majorly picks up behavioral habits from his surroundings at his home, thus it is also important to counsel parents as they would directly affect the behavior of their child.