Parenting News & Updates: How Parenting Practices Can Make Or Break A Child’s Growth And Development

How moms and dads practice parenting plays an important in the growth and development of the child. There are some studies that believe in this principle and there are some that suggest the effect is not so much.

Back in college, the theory of Erik Erikson was popular among students who took up courses with psychology units. He believed that ego develops as it successfully resolves conflicts that were social in nature, which involved building a sense of trust in others and developing a sense of identity in the society.

Erikson's psychosocial development theory has 8 stages and the first is called Trust vs. Mistrust. This happens during infancy, which is 0 to one-and-a-half years of age.

So, why are parenting practices critical in this stage? The theory of Erikson stipulated that infants were uncertain about the world and to resolve the feeling of uncertainty, they would look toward the primary caregiver for stable and consistent care.

Receiving a consistent, predictable and reliable parenting will help the child develop a sense of trust. It is believed that as the child grows, he will carry that trust with his other relationships and despite being threatened, he will still feel secure.

Not meeting the needs of the child or failed parenting, within this context, will result into the development of fear. If the care is inconsistent and unreliable, the theory suggests that the child may develop a sense of mistrust among others.

This theory seems to support the study made by Dr. Yoo Rha Hong and Dr. Jae Sun Park on the "Impact of Attachment, Temperament and Parenting on Human Development." The study suggests that sensitive and responsive parental care is important for the optimum growth and development of each child.

It was stated in the study that children who are not often spoken to, who are left to cry themselves out, who experience anger or boredom frequently won't be able to fully develop their potential and personality stability. There is one study, however, that has a another suggestion.

It suggests that negative emotionality that made the kids vulnerable to being hurt by wrathful and neglectful parenting also allowed them to be helped by kind and consistent parenting. That quality, which made the kids frail became the very quality that could become their strength, Science of Us has learned.