Parent-child Relationship
Childhood is the most important part of a child’s life. While they can be many parts of childhood, the ones who will guide you through those changing times are your parents. A parent-child relationship is a unique bond that can only be formed by the love and care between a parent and child. While taking care of them, your child becomes a precious person that you want to love and protect. To do that you need to form a good and healthy relationship between you and your child.
There are many parts to a parent-child relationship. First, you have to understand the dynamics between a child and a parent. It is also important to strengthen the relationship between you and your child and understand the key factors to good parenting.
Want to know about the parent-child dynamics? Want to know how to improve your relationship with your child? And do you also want to know the benefits of a healthy relationship with your child? Then look no further! Read on and find out all about the parent-child relationship.
Understanding the Relationship
A parent-child combination has a complex dynamic. Then let’s break them down so you can identify how this relationship forms, develops, and nurtures through this relationship.
Parts of Childhood
A child goes through many stages before they reach adulthood. As the most important part of growing up, let’s look at the parts of childhood and how the relationship changes over time:
1. Infancy:
This is the first stage of childhood where the baby begins to form trust and a connection with their parents. When they understand that they are safe trusting their parents, it forms the basis of a healthy relationship
2. Toddler:
The second stage forms the response of a child to their parents. How they act and how they react to a certain situation.
3. Preschool:
The third stage is the preparation period for the child. How well they interact with others is a reflection of how the child was raised in a family environment.
4. School:
The fourth stage sees the child’s first interaction with the world without their parents. It is at this stage a child develops their individuality and learns to be part of society.
5. Adolescence:
This stage serves as the period right before adulthood, where a child is finding their own identity and what they want to become. A parent influences this stage of development even if adolescence is the time a child distances themselves from their parents more often.
6. Reaching:
The key to an everlasting bond in adulthood is based on how the child was raised and how deep their bond is with their parents.
Parenting Style
The second half of the relationship: parents. Everyone has a unique style of raising their children. Some adopted from their own parents, and some introduce their own type of parenting. While not all parents will fall under one or multiple parenting styles, it is good to have an understanding of the basic types of parenting styles.
1. Authoritarian:
This parenting style is where the parents are the boss. What they say the child has to listen. Often the communication is in the form of discipline. This can cause a child to grow up with low self-esteem and be unable to form other relationships properly.
2. Authoritative:
Much like an authoritarian but respects a child’s point of view. This style of parenting promotes good role models and encourages a child to be heard.
3. Permissive:
Mostly an overprotective type of style. The child shows signs of being overly dependent on the parent and unable to cope without them.
4. Uninvolved:
The neglecting type. It can cause individuality to form in children but they also become distant from their parents causing a strain in their relationship.
The Key to a Good Parent-Child Relationship
The key to a good parent-child relationship is to understand the physical, social, cognitive, emotional, and moral development of the child.
A child shows physical development in their playtime with their parents. Social and cognitive development happens through their interaction with their parents. Positive reinforcements help form good social skills and critical thinking in the child. Dealing with emotions is a massive undertaking. Keeping their emotions in check and understanding how to deal with certain emotions is key to parenting. This will all reflect on their moral development, where the child learns to distinguish between right and wrong and understand how the world works.
No form of development must be hindered. Parents have to make sure their child is actively taking part in activities not just with their parents but also with those around them.
How to Strengthen Parent-Child Relationships?
Strengthening a parent-child relationship also helps form everlasting bonds. There are some things you can do to help these bonds become even stronger:
Praising:
A child reacts better to praise than to scolding. Praise helps the child to understand that what he did is correct instead of something scolding them for doing something wrong.
Doing activities together:
Activities such as playing and eating together promote more time for sharing an experience. This will definitely help strengthen the relationship.
Make time for them:
Always make time for your children. A neglected child will not want to interact with you so giving them the time of day is very important. Being there for your child’s development is key as they will look to you for guidance.
Communication:
It is a must! Communication is key for social development. And the more you communicate, the more your child will approach you to communicate.
Emotional bonding:
Be open about your emotions. Childhood is a time of development and children will become confused if they are overwhelmed with a lot of emotion. Take time to talk about their emotion so that they understand it is okay to talk about feelings.
Respect:
Respect is vital. If you don’t respect your child’s wishes and what they want to do, then they will become distant and non-responsive. It teaches them to get the respect they have to give and earn that respect as well.
Encouragement:
Some parents often discourage everything that a child does. ‘Don’t do this’ or ‘Don’t do that’. It doesn’t help them if you are only telling them what not to do. Let them explore! They are bound to make mistakes but they will learn from those mistakes. As will you. Encouraging them promotes trust between the parent and child and it is always important to build a healthy relationship on a foundation of trust.
Benefits of Good Parent-Child Relationship
Some of the benefits include:
- Healthy attachment to parents
- Regulating emotions
- Promotes the child’s mental, physical, cognitive, social, emotional development, and moral development.
- Good social behaviors
- Open about their feelings
- Willingness to help and communicate
- A good support system
What Does the Bible Say About Parent/Child Relationships?
The Bible promotes some good parenting. It will help you, as a parent, understand how to be a better parent because your child is precious. The Bible also encourages a child to explore on their own. I will list some verses for you to see later on good parenting behaviors mentioned in the Bible:
- Ephesians 6:1 to 6:4
- Psalm 127:3
- Proverbs 22:6 and Proverbs 29:17
- 3 John 1:4
- Colossians 3:21
FAQs
- Is being an authoritarian parent bad?
It is not bad. Being strict with your child is important. But they will not have good moral and social development if you constantly control their lives without their input. Be attentive to their needs too. - Does the Bible talk about parenting and children?
Yes, the Bible does in fact talk about these topics and a lot more. Some lines from the Bible can give you a good perspective of how precious your child is and how to take care of them more. - Which part of childhood is the most important?
All of them are important. But the school stage is where they are interacting with others. That is why infancy, toddler, and preschool are the important developmental stages of childhood and these are the key times to establish a strong between a parent and child.
Final Thoughts
We have learned a lot today! You must understand the dynamics between a parent and a child. What parenting style prevents good development and at what stage of their life should you be concerned about is key to good parenting. Also, strengthening your relationship makes the bond even stronger. Praising them, showing your love, and encouraging and respecting their dreams and wishes are important. It helps the child develop their own personality and understanding of the world.
As a parent, I know it can be increasingly difficult to raise a child. But trust me! There is no better feeling than seeing your child grow up. Always be there for them even when they are distant. Because they will always come to find you for the support they need. Happy parenting!
✨ Next Attraction: How to Be a More Loving Parent?
Maria W. Corley is a family psychology expert dedicated to helping families thrive. With a passion for improving relationships, Maria shares practical advice on Merge Family. Her goal is to make your family feel closer than ever by addressing communication issues and fostering understanding.
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