4.0 Parenting & Child Development Assessment

How can Natalie strengthen the parent-child bond while feeding her new baby?

• Ask another family member to feed the new baby.
• Hold the baby and feed him/her with one hand while cooking dinner.
• Lay the baby in the crib with a bottle propped on a rolled blanket.
• Sit down together and hold the baby close while feeding him/her.

Jeff helps his wife care for their new baby and plays golf/other recreation fewer days than before. This illustrates his ability to:

• resolve negative feelings.
• adapt to new routines.
• console his wife when she has a bad day.
• appreciate members of his support system.

How can Ophelia strengthen the parent-child bond while bathing her new baby?

• Avoid bathing the baby often since bath time makes babies cry
• Discipline the baby to teach him/her not to cry during bath time
• Ignore baby’s cries during baths and get it over as quickly as possible
• Use a loving tone of voice to talk with the baby during bath time

How can Terry gain confidence in responding to the cries of her new baby?

• Ask her mother what to do about the baby crying so much
• Cry when her baby cries
• Go to the bathroom and take a long hot bath
• Go to work to avoid the crying

How can Elsie handle her mixed emotions while caring for her new baby?

• Remember that it is very unusual to feel mixed emotions after a baby is born.
• Take a break and leave the baby with a sitter for a few days.
• Take practical steps to address things of concern, such as financial worries.
• Try to forget any resentment she may feel toward the baby or the father.

Both emotional and social development involve:

• a process of learning.
• forming a personal identity.
• learning to interact with others.
• recognizing feelings.

In the area of emotional development, infants at six months who are well-cared-for tend to:

• cry less than those who are not.
• develop interests outside themselves more quickly than those who are not.
• grow faster than those who are not.
• have more stranger and separation anxiety than those who are not.

Both emotional and social development of infants are most influenced by the:

• actions of siblings.
• child’s individuality.
• child’s temperament.
• type of care a child receives.

Emotional and social development are different because emotional development:

• begins at birth, but social development begins a few weeks later.
• follows a predictable pattern, but social development occurs randomly.
• influences a person’s personality, but social development does not.
• is influenced by the atmosphere of the home, but social development is not.

Social development of infants who have learned to trust differs from that of infants who have not because those who trust are better able to:

• change their temperaments.
• control their emotions.
• distinguish causes of emotions.
• form positive relationships.