Laura Do Vale is a trained clinical psychologist as well as a neuro-psychologist with over ten years of practice. She is currently doing her PhD from the University of Estremadura, Spain. She has practiced at the trauma unit of the Central Hospital of S. Jose; at the oncology unit at Capuchos Hospital, the Children’s Hospital at Dona Estefânia and as the pneumologist at the Hospital of Sta Marta, Lisboa – Portugal. She now works at Muscat Private Hospital. If you have any queries on this subject or another topic related to her area of expertise, e-mail her on laura.dovale@apexmedia.co.om

Small children learn a lot better when you associate the act of learning with the pleasures of a game. If you only communicate the idea, they won’t learn as easily as through a game. The concept will be immediately absorbed. This issue is fundamental because we can do a lot of work with children, using games as a tool.

Things like playing are important for the development of a child. We can be led to think that a game is just a way to pass time, but it is clearly much more than that. A game comes to us as a more spontaneous child activity, contributing to the growth and development of various facets of personality. The function of a game is self educating. It is through this that the child grows and evolves into adolescence and maturity.

What is hyperactivity?

Stuttering is a language disorder occurring in about 0.8 per cent of children and adolescents.

When we think of rivalry between siblings, things like jealousy, envy, competition, and other abnormal and negative behaviour always comes to mind. Jealousy is reprehensible and forbidden, especially when experienced by an older child on the birth of a sibling.