Parenting

Parenting

One of the most important goals for parents with a child in infancy is their child’s health. Even before a child is born, thoughts and conditions focus on ensuring the infant is born healthy. In attaining these goals, parents and families must put in place situations and circumstances that will lead to their children being healthy.

Therefore, the most significant source of stress during infancy is adapting to the new parent role. Concerns about proper nutrition, low birth weight, and the stress of having premature infants exist. Due to difficulties in deliveries and pregnancies, some infants born with low birth weights may have lasting effects on their development; they could have mild impairments and severe and chronic disabilities. Premature or low-birth-weight infants’ mothers consistently show a higher level of stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms after delivery, especially those born with medical problems that may be life-threatening. The role of the parents becomes complicated when there is stress on an infant’s well-being. Various infant illnesses and impairments could carry on far beyond infancy and into childhood and contribute to parental pressure. Other problems, such as providing security, which a job loss or marital issues could exacerbate, enhance focus and are tied to the parent’s psychological health and well-being (Deater-Deckard, 2004). Lack of nutrition may be shared among those who live in poverty, and if the mother is not getting proper nutrition, chances are the infant will suffer, which is one of the causes of infants being born with low birth weight.

Regardless of the strategy, parents of infants born with an illness want a healthy, vibrant child. Adaptation could be one strategy to ease the parenting stress of an infant with a disease. The ability of parents to successfully adapt to the medical problems of their infants could improve the infants’ outcomes. Additionally, showing love and affection could successfully reduce or eliminate stress. Adapting and dealing with the situation upfront directly benefits both the infant and the parent. Coping appears to be an effective strategy that minimizes the negative thoughts and consequences associated with the stresses of parenting (Deater-Deckard, 2004).

Furthermore, educating parents on the importance of connecting touch and stimulation shows significant promise; preterm infants massaged several times a day gained weight faster. In cases where infants experience birth trauma, a supportive environment or interactions with caring adults have been shown to aid in restoring their growth. Also, positive life events are thought to improve the recovery of infants with severe birth complications. (Berk, 2012). Also, a strategy for combating lack of nutrition during and after pregnancy for couples that live in poverty is the use of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which provides services such as pregnant mothers getting proper nutrition by following guidelines for a healthy baby.

References

Berk, L., E. (2012) Child Development, 9th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, VitalBook file.

Deater-Deckard, Kirby. Parenting Stress, Yale University Press, 2004. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/apus/detail.action?docID=3419845.

USDA Food and Nutrition Service (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic

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Parenting

Parenting is probably the most challenging job one can ever face, yet the rewards are indescribable. Pick ONE stage (e.g., infancy/toddler years, elementary school years, or adolescence) and describe the most important goals for parents with a child in that stage. Based on your readings, what are the most significant sources of parental stress during that stage? What types of parenting strategies are most successful at that stage?