Psychoanalytic Theory Of Parental Responsiveness

Parental Responsiveness Parental responsiveness refers to the way parents respond and meet their child’s needs and demands. Often, parents will respond quickly when their child cries. Even though they might respond quickly, it can still be difficult to calm down the child. This usually results in the parents being frustrated and not being able to figure out what’s wrong with the child. Especially, when they’ve covered all the common reasons children cry like being wet, hungry, or tired. So, the only other option they feel like they have is to let the child cry it out. However, there are other options that can be used when faced with a situation like this. Behaviorism, the Psychoanalytic Theory, and the Attachment Theory provide different …show more content…
The Psychoanalytic Theory suggests that our actions are controlled by feelings that we are unaware of. Children have internal needs that drive their behavior and neither they nor the parents have complete control over them (Brooks, 2011). Therefore, any problems with behavior like crying are usually coming from the unconscious desires or feelings within the child. The Attachment Theory states that babies develop a secure attachment to their parents or caregiver by consistently having their needs met (Stevens, n.d.). According to the Attachment theory, crying is adaptive because it keeps parents or caregivers close so the baby can develop an attachment to them (Stevens, n.d.). So, the child cries, the parents respond, the child gets what is needed, and the child develops a secure attachment to the parents. According to the research, parents should respond to crying with comfort. If the parents comfort the child, the child is more likely to stop crying and respond positively to the parents’ …show more content…
In order to create a secure attachment, the mother should be the primary caregiver, keep the child’s eating and sleeping routines synchronized, regularly show affection to the child, and act consistently in response to the child’s distress. An attachment disorder can be fixed with a lot of effort, patience, and love. The main thing to remember is to stay calm, yet firm when interacting with the child. This will make the child feel safe and that the parent is trustworthy. “Trust and security come from seeing loving actions, hearing reassuring words, and feeling comforted over and over again (Smith,