Analysis of difficulties modern parents face in terms of upbringing, development and education of children of early and preschool age

Statement of the problem. The authors study the specifics of the difficulties of modern parents raising children of early and preschool age, in matters of upbringing, education and development of children, for the timely provision of psychological, pedagogical, methodological and consulting assistance. The purpose of the article is to analyze the consulting requests of modern parents raising children of early and preschool age on issues of child development, to characterize the typical difficulties of parents associated with the development and upbringing of a child. Research methodology. The methodology of the study consists of the provisions of scientific research by Vygotsky L.S., Leontiev A.N., considering the patterns of mental development of a child, research by Smirnova E.O., Ovcharova R.V., characterizing the relationship of preschool children with close adults as a factor of child development; works by Varga A.Ya., Spivakovskaya A.S., Gippenreiter Yu.B., substantiating the importance of support for families to ensure psychological well-being of a child and overcome existing difficulties. Research method: questionnaire, content analysis of parents’ consultation requests. Research results. The results of the study showed that parents’ ideas about children are associated with their emotionally positive, value-based attitude towards a child. Typical difficulties of parents of young children in the process of raising and educating a child include issues related to speech development (insufficient vocabulary, slow down in speech development); with negative behavioral manifestations (whims, tantrums, stubbornness); with difficulties adapting to kindergarten. The speech development of a child as the main problem area of child development was also noted by the majority of parents of preschool children (shortcomings of sound pronunciation, coherent monological speech). At the same time, parents of children of this age group are characterized by difficulties in upbringing and educating a child associated with his/her undesirable behavior (disobedience, tantrums, whims). Many parents single out the emotional-volitional sphere (aggressive behavior, anxiety, fears) as a problem area of a child’s development. Conclusion. In general, the study showed that parents of children of early and preschool age are consciously involved in the process of raising children, are ready to interact with specialists in the field of preschool education, but underestimate the importance of their own participation in ensuring the development of a child. The results obtained make it possible to substantiate the directions and content of psychological and pedagogical assistance to modern parents by organizing various forms of psychological counseling and education.