Advisor
Being a grandparent doesn’t mean being distant
Research and public attention focused on the needs and the physical and mental development of children are a rather new phenomenon. In fact, it is only over the last three decades of the 20th century that this pioneering field of science has become accepted.
As late as the early 1970’s, the idea that infants and young children need anything more than just their mother, food, and rest was almost unheard of. It was also thought that rates of development, personality, and ability were inherited traits rather than the result of affection, interaction, and nurturing.
How many times have we heard the expression, “He’s just like his grandfather”, or “She gets her brains from her mother’s side of the family”. These expressions, along with many more related sayings and adages, are mainly the result of misunderstandings and lack of knowledge. This is due to the fact that while your child may very well inherit genetic aspects of nature, your child’s personality, language skills, and capacity for development can all be increased through increased social interactions during their infancy and early years.
Today´s research highlights these findings with new knowledge about the importance of the first years of life. Such as “Overall, positive quality interactions during the first years of life tend to be positively linked to the child's subsequent intellectual and language capacities and to more secure attachments to major caregivers” (Bornstein 1995). Furthermore, positive development throughout childhood is most often the result of joint attention (Dodici, Draper & Peterson 2003).
By contrast, today, generations are becoming increasingly aware of the need to play, interact, talk, and provide positive response to infants and young children. Many grandparents grew up in a time where the findings of child development research were unheard of or unknown.
In film and television we often see the stereotypical figure of a stern and unsympathetic grandfather or a strict and distant grandmother. These images are archaic and outdated.
Playing, caring, and sharing moments with your grandchild while they are seated in their highchair at the dining table or while out walking with them in their baby carriage or stroller allows you to interact more and more with your grandchild, which in turn facilitates their development (Saxon 1997). So, maybe the next time someone in your family says, “He’s just like his grandfather”, you can smile knowing that, due to the engagement, encouragement, and interaction you have given your grandchild in their early years, they are most probably right.
Sources:
Bornstein, Marc H., ed. 1995. Handbook of Parenting: Status and Social Conditions of Parenting. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. via questia.com
Dodici, Beverly J., Dianne C. Draper, and Carla A. Peterson. 2003. Early Parent-Child Interactions and Early Literacy Development. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education 23, no. 3: 124+. via questia.com
Saxon, T. F. (1997). “A longitudinal study of early mother-infant interactions and later language competence.” First Language. 17, 271-281. Shatz, Marilyn. 1995. A Toddler's Life: Becoming a Person. New York: Oxford University Press. via questia.com
Add this page to a social bookmarking site
Fill out this form to send an e-mail to your friend telling them about this page on Stokke.com
|
Fill out this form to comment this page on Stokke.com
|
©
2010
Stokke AS