Destructive Interaction Between Parents And Toddlers In Well-Functioning Families

Abstract

It is common knowledge that parents have great influence upon the development of children at an early age. The parents become their children’s helpers in self-knowledge and understanding the world of objects and human relations. At the same time, the interaction between the parents and the children, even in well-functioning families, can take a destructive character and negatively affect the development of the children. While studying the interaction between parents and toddlers, we will view it as a system of consistently interrelated components – mutual knowledge, mutual understanding, relationships, mutual actions and mutual influence. To demonstrate the influence of destructive interaction upon the development of toddlers, we used the method of case study. For two years, we observed the interaction between Sasha (a girl from a two-parent, well-to-do and pedagogically well-functioning family) and her mother. In the course of our study, we revealed problems at the level of mutual knowledge. The interaction between Sasha and her mother was destructive, because the mother could not understand and accept the change in her child taking place in accordance with the norms of age-related development. This led to disruption in the interaction at all subsequent stages. Destructive interaction was the main cause of the girls neurotic disorder. In order to prevent the development of destructive interaction between the parents and their children, it is necessary to carry out education and counseling of the parents attracting psychologists, pedagogues and medical workers to this process.