Parent-Child Relationship: Understanding its Impact on Mental Health

Running head: PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP
PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP
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Author Note

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PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP
The relationship between a parent and a child is one that helps in the social, physical
and emotional development of the child. It is a bond that is experienced by every parent as
well as the child. A strong and emotional relationship between the parent and the child leads
to the development of the personality of the child as well as his/her behaviour. Studies show
that a positive relationship between the parent and the child leads to outcomes that are
positive (Rostad and Whitaker 2016). The involvement of the parent with his child will
determine how the child will be when he grows. A child who is raised with feelings of
emotions and security have a better chance of development than the ones who are deprived of
it. Discussing the role of parenting is an essential subject that should be discussed and given
importance as the future of the child depends on the way their parents bring them up. A
mentally, emotionally and physically healthy child will be able to regulate his emotions under
any circumstances (Vieira et al. 2016). Therefore, the essay aims to discuss the relationship
between the parent and the child and how the relationship between the two shapes and
contributes to understanding the mental health of the child.
Good parenting will always help the child to exhibit optimistic as well as confidence
when it comes to the social behaviour of the child. It also motivates the child to deal with
problems in a positive way. The relationship between a parent and a child goes through many
stages such as- infancy, toddlerhood, preschool, adolescence and adulthood (Thrane et al.
2016). It should be noted that every child is brought up differently; therefore, the parenting
style and the experience of the child will not be the same for every child (Wong et al. 2017).
However, looking at various developmental theories will help in building a healthy
relationship with the child. The relationship between the parent as well as the child can be
understood by understanding the various developmental theories propagated by- Sigmund
Freud, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget and lastly Lawrence Kohlberg.

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PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP
The developmental theories provide a clear understanding of human behaviour,
development as well as thought and ideas. Each theory under developmental psychology
helps an individual to understand a specific aspect of human behaviour. Most of the
developmental theories concentrate on childhood, as this is the time when most of the
changes take place. The developmental psychologists have studied a variety of academic
areas such as social, cognitive, emotional and biological processes that have helped them to
arrive at a particular conclusion (Parent et al. 2016). Sigmund Freud believed that in every
stage of the child the latter has their specific set of needs as well as demands and each of the
above is based on a specific part of the body and has a sexual base. He offered dynamic as
well as the psychosocial definition of human behaviour (Mitchell and Black 2016).
According to him, a child goes through different stages of sexual development such as- oral,
anal, phallic and lastly genital. In the oral phase, the child licks and sucks his/her thumb. In
the anal stage, the child is trained to excrete where he can now control his bowel movements.
Furthermore, the phallic stage is when the child starts to differentiate herself/himself
concerning gender. And lastly in the genital stage, the sexual, as well as other adult activities,
begins to dominate (Barford Geerardyn and Van 2018). All these stages are developed with
the care and affection that the child receives fro his parents. He believed that the events that
occur in childhood have significant effects on adulthood that helps in shaping the mental as
well as the personality of every individual.
Erik Erikson too highlighted eight stages of psychosocial development. According to
him, during each stage, the conflicting ideas must be successfully resolved so that the child
can become more confident that will contribute to his mental growth. He writes that the Ego
delivers positive contributions that help in the development of the child’s ideas, skills and
attitudes. From birth to the first year the child develops a sense of trust towards his caregivers
and are dependent on them, but neglect or deprivation from affection may lead to the feelings

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PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP
of mistrust and resentment (Knight 2017). Secondly, the child during toddlerhood tries to
explore the things that he sees and begin to show preferences, and at the same time, he
develops feelings of shame. Therefore, the child tries to balance between autonomy and
shame. During preschool, the child starts taking the initiative for his activities and ones who
are unable to develop a feeling of guilt. Next, the child develops feelings of inferiority and
superiority, depending on the task they can do. During adolescence, the child develops a
sense of self and looks for his identity, but at the same time, he is confused about his
character as well. Next, the child develops a sense of intimacy with others and those who do
not improve this intimacy experiences isolation (Syed and McLean 2017). These stages help
in the development of the child both mentally as well as physically.
Piaget classified four stages of child development- sensorimotor, preoperational,
concrete operational and formal operational stages (Meadows 2017). He believed that
children take an active role in the process of learning, performing and making observations.
As they interact with others, they gain knowledge. All these stages are developed through
healthy interaction of the parent with the child (Meadows 2017). Lawrence Kohlberg
expanded the earlier stages that were proposed by Piaget. He, unlike Piaget and other
developmental theorists, explained the moral development of the child. According to him,
preconventional, conventional and postconventional are the stages of moral development
(Sanders 2018). During the first stage, the child controls his morality externally. The child
obeys to the authoritative figure. In the second stage, the child’s sense of morality is
connected with the personal as well as social relationships. They follow the rules because
they realise the importance of it in society. In the last stage, the moral principles of the child
become more abstract, and they begin to question (May 2017). This sense of morality is
developed by the relationship between the child and his parents.