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HSE 215 Presentation
130
the importance of the Caregiver-infant relationship
Stephanie Stead
Southern New Hampshire University
September 18, 2019
Why is the caregiver/infant relationship important?
Relationship
The caregiver-infant relationship is the relationship between an infant and any adult who is meeting the needs of the child. A caregiver can be defined as any person who in charge of the care of the infant. This can include parents, grandparents, foster parents, day care providers, friends, family, etc. The caregiver-infant relationship is vital in the healthy development of the infant. "High-quality relationships increase the likelihood of positive outcomes for young children (Social-Emotional Development Domain, 2019)." We want to make sure that the bond between the infant and the caregiver is strong. "While children need food, sanitation and access to health services to survive and develop optimally, a warm and affectionate relationship with an adult caregiver who is responsive to the child’s needs is equally important (Eshel, Daelmans, Cabral de Mello, and Martines, 2006)." Building a healthy relationship between the caregiver and the infant has an impact on their development.
What power does a relationship have?
How can we increase the positive interactions that a caregiver has with an infant?
Strategy
Responsive parenting is one way that we can implement positive changes to the relationship between the caregiver and the infant. The responsive parenting strategy is broken down into three different steps: Observation, Interpretation, and Action (Eshel, Daelmans, Cabral de Mello, and Martines, 2006). Lets look into these three different steps individually.
Observation
What is observation?
Observation involves the caregiver paying close attention to the cues that the infant will give. These cues can be broken down into two different categories: body language and vocalizations. In the observation stage, the caregiver will also want to note the time of day and the infant's normal schedule along with the cues that are received.
(Eshel, Daelmans, Cabral de Mello, and Martines, 2006)
Interpretation
What is interpretation?
Interpretation is the second step in the responsive parenting strategy. It involves taking the cues that you observed from the infant and interpreting what the infant may want. Here are some infant cues that you may observe and what they may mean the infant wants:
Engaging Infant Cues:
-Looking at you
-Reaching out for you
-Smiling
-Cooing
-Babbling
Hungry Infant Cues:
-Crying/Clenched fingers
-Mouthwatering
-Rooting
-Hands in their mouth
-Sucking movements
Disengating Infant Cues:
-Turning head away/Pulling away from you
-Crying/fussy
-Coughing/choking
-Yawning
-Squirming/kicking
Satiated Infant Cues:
-Arching their back
-Pushing away
-Falling asleep
-Open arms at side of body
-Open or relaxed fingers (White, Simon, Bryan, 2002)
Action
What is action?
Action is the most important part of this process. In this step, you should have a good idea on what the infant is needing. After observing, interpreting, it is now the time to act quickly in meeting the need of the infant. In doing so, you are creating trust between the infant and the caregiver creates a secure attachment and in turn leads to fewer future behavior concerns and increased social competence (Eshel, Daelmans, Cabral de Mello, and Martines, 2006).
Meeting the infants needs
When an infant's needs are met appropriately, a cycle of healthy attachment is developed:
attachment
(http://www.radconnection.com/the-cycle-of-attachment/)
After the trust and confidence is developed, the infant can feel more at ease since all of their survival needs are met and will feel safe, which in turn leads to an easier time developing.
What's next?
If you feel as if you would like help in developing your caregiver-infant relationship, but you don't know where to go, Northern Panhandle Head Start is a local community resource that you may be interested in. They are a grant-funded program that services low-income families in Brooke, Hancock, Ohio, Marshall, and Wetzel Counties in West Virginia.
Community resource
(npheadstart.org)
what does Northern Panhandle Head Start have to offer?
Program services:
Northern Panhandle Head Start has a variety of options available to people in the community. These options include a home-base, center-base, and collaborative program. The program that would best suit the needs of improving the caregiver-infant relationship would be their home-base option. In the home-base option, you have a Parent Educator (PE) that comes to visit once a week to your home for 90 minutes. During this visit, the Parent Educator give parenting education, information on health and nutrition, as well as completing regular screenings to maintain that your child is developing appropriately. During this visit, the Parent Educator uses an evidence-based curriculum that focuses on the parent-child relationship. The parent and the PE, begin to form a professional relationship in which the parent can feel free to discuss any concerns that the parent may have. The PE brings activities for the parent to complete with their child in order to facilitate more parent-child interaction.
(npheadstart.org)
References:
References
Eshel, N., Daelmans, B., de Mello, M. C., & Martines, J. (2006). Responsive parenting: interventions and outcomes. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, (12), 991. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgit&AN=edsgit.A156364144&site=eds-live&scope=site
Minnesota, C. (2016, July 25). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXhiyjr0HrQ
Serving Pregnant Women & Families With Children, Birth to Five Years Old in Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall & Wetzel Counties of West Virginia. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.npheadstart.org/about-northern-panhandle-head-start
Social-Emotional Development Domain. (2019, July). Retrieved from https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/itf09socemodev.asp#iwa
The Cycle of Attachment – Rad Connection. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.radconnection.com/the-cycle-of-attachment/
White, C. , Simon, M. & Bryan, A. (2002). Using Evidence to Educate Birthing Center Nursing Staff. MCN, The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, 27(5), 294-298.
Eshel, N., Daelmans, B., de Mello, M. C., & Martines, J. (2006). Responsive parenting: interventions and outcomes. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, (12), 991. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgit&AN=edsgit.A156364144&site=eds-live&scope=site
Minnesota, C. (2016, July 25). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXhiyjr0HrQ
Serving Pregnant Women & Families With Children, Birth to Five Years Old in Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall & Wetzel Counties of West Virginia. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.npheadstart.org/about-northern-panhandle-head-start
Social-Emotional Development Domain. (2019, July). Retrieved from https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/itf09socemodev.asp#iwa
The Cycle of Attachment – Rad Connection. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.radconnection.com/the-cycle-of-attachment/
White, C. , Simon, M. & Bryan, A. (2002). Using Evidence to Educate Birthing Center Nursing Staff. MCN, The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, 27(5), 294-298.