Parenting+Infants+&+Toddlers


 * __Parenting Infants and Toddlers__**

 Becoming a parent can be the most exciting or the most stressful time in a person’s life. Parenting comes with a lot of responsibilities even before the child is born. It is important for the mother to avoid anything that may be harmful to her growing child. It is also important for the mother to maintain a healthy diet throughout her pregnancy to ensure that the child develops correctly and fully. Once the child arrives, the adjustment to having a new baby in the home can cause much stress, but it also has the potential to bring great joy into the home.

One of the most important things to do as a parent is to create an environment that promotes positive cognitive and emotional development. At this stage in their lives, children are beginning to develop their personalities. Erikson tells us that they are in the trust vs. mistrust stage and that parents need to make sure their basic needs are being met by providing a responsive, caring environment with warm, nurturing interactions. This information is most helpful to us when working with families so we know what to look for. It would be hard to go into a home and assess the way a family treats their children without this background knowledge of how a infant or toddler should be interacted with.

Heath, Phyllis. //Parent-Child Relations Context, Research, and Application (2nd Edition).// 2nd ed. Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.


 * Infant Trust and Attachment –Secure Attachment**

The theory of attachment began with research from John Bowlby and was developed and researched farther by Mary Ainsworth. Ainsworth focused on the three types of attachment, secure, ambivalent, and avoidant.

Secure attachment in infants means the child has a trusting relationship with the parent. The infant does not become overly distressed when he/she is separated from the parent, the return of the parent is always positive, the infant prefers his/her parent over strangers, and the infant prefers his/her parents when they become frightened. Parents of a securely attached infant tend to interact and play more often with their child, react promptly to their child’s needs and overall they tend to be more responsive to their child. Securely attached infants have and show a sense of confidence and tend to engage more often in exploration. Securely attached infants to tend be less disruptive and aggressive than children of other attachment styles.

The way children are raised has an effect on the way they grow and develop as a person. Secure attachment is just one attachment style. It is shown to have a positive effect on a child as he/she grows and develops. These children tend to have trusting relationships and high self-esteem. I feel it is important for professionals to educate parents about the different types of attachment. It is important for them to know that the way children are raised has a great effect on the way they act as a person, how they learn, and communicate. Parents can use the different information on attachment to develop their parenting behavior and styles. Professionals can use this information on attachment to help parents learn and build effective parenting behaviors. The professional can design effective intervention strategies for the parent or hold informational sessions to promote and encourage positive development and child rearing.

Heath, Phyllis. //Parent-Child Relations Context, Research, and Application (2nd Edition)//. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2008. Print. tVan Wagner, Kendra. "Secure Attachment - Attachment Styles." //Psychology - Student Resources - Psychology Articles//. Web. 04 Feb. 2010. .

__**Meeting Nutritional Needs of Infants and Toddlers**__

Nutrition is important for all age groups, but with the rapid physical development infants and toddlers undergo in the first 3 years of life, it becomes an even larger issue. Adequate nutrition involves that the child is getting enough calories, protein, and other nutrients to sustain such large volumes of growth. According to the World Health Organization, the preferred form of nutrition (in industrialized and un-industrialized countries) is breast-feeding only for at least 4-6 months, and then introducing some solid foods. However, powdered formulas with iron are acceptable as well. After a child has reached the one year milestone, it becomes even more important, once weaning (removing breast or bottle milk from child), to continue to provide the child with optimal nutrition.

It is solely up to the parent, when they want to wean their child from the bottle or breast. According to the text there is a lot of documentation to support, the effects of malnutrition. In addition to parental choices, other factors come into play, to predict whether a child will be healthy or not. The geographic and socioeconomic status of the child also has a determining factor. A good example of this would be the poor quality and contamination of water in some unindustrialized countries. Again, according to the text there have been long-going studies in places like Kenya, Egypt, and Jamaica, revolving around malnutrition in infants. These studies have specifically found learning disabilities to be last effect of malnutrition. One can tell, it is important to follow nutritional guidelines, and make sure that children are being provided with what they need to thrive and be healthy. Heath, Phyllis. //Parent-Child Relations: Theory Research, Context, and Application (2nd Edition)//. 2 ed. Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.


 * Kangaroo Care

Kangaroo care is used for at-risk infants to normalize the infant's breathing and heart beat. Using skin-to-skin contact the child's ear is placed against the parent's chest so he or she can hear the heart beat. Through this form of care the infant can also feel the warmth and be the parent and baby can connect through this. In the past this kind of care was only utilized in cultures that were more of a traditional nature but it is now used more and more every day in intensive care around the world. If parents and hospitals choose to use kangaroo care with their at-risk infant it has been found to increase the child's chance of survival. **

It is important for parents to know the benefits of this kind of care for them and their infant. There is an increased attachment and bond between the parent and child and also through this kind of care the parents can gain a sense of confidence in their parenting abilities. To be able to hold their child and knowing that just their bodies can regulate their child's breathing and heart is a definite esteem booster. The positive effects for the infant of this form of care are not only a regulated heart rate and breathing pattern, but an increase in weight, better sleep, influences on cognitive development as well as motor development. It is just a very simple way to help an at-risk infant when often there is not much else you can do.