Blog

Healthy Child development: Sophia Petrounia is sharing with us her values, inspiration, and motivation as the mother of an Olympic, and World champion.

This article belongs to the “Guidance/Learning from others” section, first established on SHARE Lv in 2017. It is based on the idea that some degree of learning, can be gained by exploring human creativity and achievement. Most of the time such results, imply passion, and sophistication.

For that reason, we scrutinize, carefully select, and offer to our members in vivid and engaging ways the knowledge and experiences of creative people. By doing so we hope that we will deepen our understanding of how things may work better for us. It may also help us make sense of our world, dreams, and aspirations.

Nevertheless, we would not encourage imitation. At least at the beginning, we would recommend just enrichment of our perspective and understanding.

In this episode, we present Sofia Petrounia, mother of the gold medalist on the still rings, Lefteri Petrounia. 

From an informal interview that was given back in 2016, we have selected four excerpts, that we think to refer to and support healthy child development. She shares with us, her source of inspiration, her values, and motivation. They are relating to the upbringing of her three children and especially with the development and progress of Lefteris.

Watch the video below to see what she has to say to us:

Sophia Petrounia about giving, generosity, and genuine support. Implications for parenting

Thoughts, and questions that the interview arises.

Emotional presence and genuine support in healthy child development

How important are the emotional presence of the parents and their selfless support for the healthy development of their child? What does the gesture of donating the gold medal to the mother implies, regarding her contribution to the great victory?

Do we care about our child’s psychology? 

What are the characteristics and qualities of Sophia’s character as implied by the phrase “I am only interested in my child’s psychology” and not about the success, or the medal itself? Does such an attitude convey intrinsic value and confidence to the child?  How important is it to care about the psychology of our child and why? 

PS. Focusing on our children’s success, instead of their inner balance, is not something that we do because we are bad parents. In many cases, this is happening out of fear, while trying to control situations and results. In other cases, we may be a little bit more selfish than we should be…

For a better understanding of the subject and its importance sign up here for 2 hours of free consultation on the subject.

Healthy child development: the importance of love and support

What do the feelings of gratitude towards the mother express? Can the mother’s love energy take on flesh and blood and be transformed into mental, physical, and spiritual strength? The excerpt from the interview ends with Petrounias’ absolute assurance that it was his mother’s support that raised him to the golden pedestal.

Nevertheless, love may be of “fashionable” usage in our days, yet, quite often, with no feasible meaning and application even within families. For further understanding of the subject and a beautiful example, follow the link below:

Love is…to lift you up when others let you down

Generosity and higher purpose: their role in healthy child development

Can the reciprocation of the support and love of our fans and of our country, function as a motive to achieve something higher in our lives? What kind of ethos, and character are required in order to put aside our fears, petty political “games” and selfishness that keep us trapped in our “little world”? How difficult is it for us to choose generosity instead of cynicism?

Is a good character important in life?

Do we consider it important to improve our character, or our “talent” is just enough? And if so, why should we do it? After all, and especially after the lessons learned from the recent incidences of arrogance and exploitation in the fields of cinema and theater for example, does it make sense both on a personal and social level, to strive for achieving morality and good character, as Sofia Petrounia wonders? 

What prevents us from offering to our children what is probably best for them?

The reasons can be various. It depends on the individual experiences and personality of the parent. Usually, they are related to prejudices, misconceptions, misinformation, inability, or fear to access unconscious thoughts and feelings. Sometimes the role of some personal weaknesses is also important.

However, with a little effort and faith, we can fix everything. The real problems, that may make our life difficult are mainly the denial of them or the psychological stagnation. (Furthermore, healthy child development should be a priority in any government policy, and parents should have access to educational and emotional support).

More specifically:

• Prejudices that the child is born with either a good or a bad character. Such labels, which are usually inaccurate, result in the parent taking a punitive or rejecting attitude. Thus, the child may develop feelings of guilt, that may reduce his/her self-confidence and sense of self-worth. In other words, a situation is created, of “non-acceptance”. Finally, such an attitude can even divide families, as parents usually compare their children with each other, creating family animosity and negativity.

• Similar to the previous one is also the lack of trust in the child. The parent fears that the child does not have the skills abilities, or qualifications needed to develop and improve in life. This can be a major blow to the child’s ego. The child is likely to internalize feelings of helplessness and desperation.
•  
• At the same time, this also implies that we criticize our children, even imperceptibly, as they do not seem to meet our expectations. Therefore, instead of helping and supporting them to overcome their struggles and difficulties, we stand opposed to them through criticism, or we become over-protective. Our “image” about what is a good, smart, capable, etc. child makes any differentiation from that image, scaring. As a result, we stop focusing on the child’s psychology. 

• We may feel quite lost regarding our role as parents. Why do we bring a child into the world? Can we reflect on how our child will be happy in the future? How important is its independence, its ability to create and achieve something on its own?  What solutions can we think of, in order to arm them with valuable life skills?

Other areas that may need some consideration. Self/parent-improvement and its importance in healthy child development

False interpretations

We make wrong assessments or give inaccurate interpretations, regarding the failures and mistakes of our children. For example, we may interpret fear as laziness or reactivity as bad character.

Nevertheless, when a child falls or makes a mistake it may be as devastated as anybody else. How the child would feel if we throw criticism or shame on top of it?  It seems to be important to be kind to them. Kindness (towards ourselves and others) is an important aspect of mental and emotional resilience.

What impact does parental self-worth have on healthy child development?

Selfishness, or personal aspirations that consciously or unconsciously create distance and lack of trust between the child and the parent. Children may become a means for promoting ourselves and our worth. If the parent detects something like that, we would recommend finding ways to work on building their own self-worth.

For a better understanding of the origins of self-worth, and its real meaning, follow the link below:

Self-worth. An inalienable right. Implications for parenting and relationships

Dependence on the children.

Fear that the children will become independent and will abandon their parents. It is no wonder that parents bond with their children and wish to receive from them the joy of life.

However, if parents do not put aside their personal needs the energy transmitted by such an addiction, (i.e., I put myself above the child), is likely to be felt by the child and create anger, resentment, or resignation.

Parent’s personal difficulties, and struggles.

Insecurities, and fear that we are not good parents, regrets, guilt, depression, etc. It seems that the role of personal development and self-confidence of the parent is an important factor in healthy child development and in the quality of the relationship with the child.

Remorse and guilt, for example, can make it difficult for us to set safe boundaries for our children. Anxiety, that they may suffer something bad may restrict their freedoms. Our own sadness, depression, or melancholy may reverse the child-parent role.

However, it is good to respond to these situations with calmness and kindness. For example, parents have the right to be melancholic or to experience depression. We are humans after all. On the other hand, it would be good both for us and for our children, to find ways to solve these problems and thus lead ourselves towards beauty and happiness in our lives.

Other “Guidance/Learning from other” articles on SHARE Lv

Do you find the above section helpful? Follow the TAG below to learn more from others on various topics: 

Guidance/Learning from others

Image

Paula Rego: Flying children, 1992

Video

Watch the full interview here (in Greek only): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rx7yuITqJ8&t=1s

Retrieved from the Youtube channel  GossiptvgrVideos . 

Get in touch

If you would like to know more about the differences between hate, anger, and how to constructively manage them, please SHARE  your questions here or Contact us

If you find it difficult to embody the information above, or you are challenged by a similar issue in your life right now, Register Here to discuss it with one of our reliable, qualified advisors. 

Elissavet Georgiadis (Mental Health Professional. PgDipMT, GSMD – City University)