FAULTY PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS.

                   

 FAULTY PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS.

 The quality of parent - child interactions gains prominence in view of the marked impression it has on the child's further development. Personality disposition of the child is moulded by his Parent child relationship plays an important role in the personality development of the child. reaction to parental behaviour.

   As the infant progress into childhood, he must master new competencies, learn usable assumptions about himself and the world, and exert increasing inner control over his behaviour. During this period, the family unit remains the crucial guiding influence. However, parent - child relationships and family interactions are extremely complex matters.

Most parents have their own ideas on child rearing . Confounding the problem is the  generation gap that confuses parental attitudes towards their children’s behavioural    pattern, besides socio-cultural factors , gender discrimination and educational  competition.

Parental  relationship	è	Child Behavioural Pattern
Physical neglect, denial of love and affection, harsh or inconsistent punishment, failure to spend time with the child, lack of interest in his/her activities and achievements and lack of respect for the his rights and feelings as a person.	è	Thumb sucking, bed wetting, aggressiveness, negativism. Jealousy, Slowness in conscience development, self-hurting
Over protection and domination. Submissiveness. low self-evaluation, some dulling of intellectual striving, dependency	è	Submissiveness. low self-evaluation, some dulling of intellectual striving, dependency.
Over permissiveness and over indulgence.	è	Selfishness, demanding attitude, inability to tolerate frustration, lack of responsibility, stubbornness.
Perfectionism with unrealistic demands.	è	Severe conflicts, self-condemnation, guilt, rigidness; lack of spontaneity
Lack of discipline, harsh, overly severe discipline, inconsistent discipline.	è	Aggressiveness, antisocial behaviour, fear, hatred of parent, little initiative, lack of friendly feelings towards others, over conflicts
Contradictory demands and communications	è	Unclear self-identity, lack of initiative, self-devaluation, low self-confidence.
Undesirable parental models.	è	Formulation of unrealistic goals, delinquency.  extreme anxiety, nervousness.

       Based on this, child rearing attitudes could be improved. Psychological counselling   could  be offered to      
       alleviate healthy parent-child relationship and to prevent certain   unwanted behavioural patterns in    
       children.

      Gitanjali Sharma

      Courtesy : THE HINDU, Sunday, February 26,1995