There is no use denying the fact that the issue of relations between parents and children is one of the most important in human life. Since childhood a person is influenced by his/her parents and all his/her future life depends on these relations and qualities which will be obtained due to the interaction between a child and his/her parents. Resting on these facts, it becomes obvious that people should understand the best way of communicating with their children and caring about them. It is especially vital in the period of infancy as a child depends totally on his/her parents and its is due to their care he/she will be able to become a member of society. The chapter Parenting infants and toddlers from the book Parent-Child Relations by Jerry Bigner is devoted to this issue. The author tries to investigate the main peculiarities of relations between parents and an infant.
First of all, the author outlines the main needs of an infant, which are very important at this stage of his/her development. The author determines infancy as the “period of life span that extends between the birth and the first year following the birth” (Bigner, 2008, 146) and outlines its great significance. The author underlines the main landmarks of this period, explaining importance of all factors. He manages to explain clearly why some issues are important for an infant. That is why, it becomes obvious that great attention should be given to a child at this stage of his/her development. Additionally, the author also tends to show a reader importance of the issue of breast feeding and different attitudes which exist towards it. It should be said, that the language, in which the chapter and the whole book is written, is rather clear and it is easy to understand the authors idea. Though he cogitates about different issues which sometimes are rather complicated, a reader can follow his thoughts.
Nevertheless, the chapter also suggests different ideas connected with mental and physical development of a child, suggesting several ideas for parents to be able to control their baby and create opportunities for his/her development. It is obvious, that there is a great number of different approaches to the issue of development of an infant and the author suggest only some of them. However, it is possible to say that ideas suggested by him are supported by clear evidence as the author uses some credible sources in his book. Additionally, great number of other scientists have similar approaches to the issue of the development of an infant.
Moreover, it should be said that at the end of the chapter the author suggests several ideas which serve as the conclusion and which seem to be very important within the framework of relations between children and parents and their role as educators. The author states that “becoming a parent, especially for the first time, is a significant event that requires critical adjustments for the adults in a family system” (Bigner, 2008, 169) and that “first-time parents may be educated to parent infants efficiently” (Bigner, 2008, 169). With this in mind, it is possible to say that courses, which teach parents how to care about their children, are very important and can guarantee secure life of a child.
Nevertheless, resting on these facts, it possible to conclude that this chapter provides important knowledge about parenting and helps to increase the level of parents efficiency as educators.
Reference
Bigner, J. (2008). Parent-Child Relations: An Introduction to Parenting. London: Pearson.