Cebu Doctors’ University

College of Nursing
Mandaue City

Elective I

RLE IV: Concept of Parenting: Parenting

Behaviors & Infant Care

Group members:

Lampong, Marriah Fatima G.

Lim, Gabrielle Marie A.
Mendoza, Val Jose F.
Merced, Vivy
Montana, Carmeli
Moral, Queenie Princess
Nguyen, Dang-Khoi H.
After 4 hours of sharing-discussion, the Level III students will be able to:
1. Define the following terms:
1.1. Parent
1.2. Parenthood
1.3. Parenting Behavior
1.4. Child Control/ Discipline
1.5. Infant
2. Discuss parenting as to:
2.1. Methods of motivation for parenthood
2.2. Ways to prepare for parenthood
2.3. Factors affecting the transition to parenthood
3. Talk about parenting behaviors:
3.1. Parental styles of control
3.2. General guidelines for implementing child discipline
4. Explain parenting an infant as to:
4.1. Common behavioral problems of infants
4.2. Role of the nurse in the care of a family with a healthy or ill infant
1. Define the following terms:
1.1. Parent
- one that begets or brings forth offspring; a person who brings up and
cares for another

1.2. Parenthood
- state of being a parent

1.3. Parenting behavior

- the procedure involved in preparation for the birth of offspring and the
behavior of one or both parents which assist in the survival or welfare of
 their young.

1.4. Child Control/Discipline

- the process of teaching your child what type of behavior is acceptable
and what type is not acceptable. In other words, discipline teaches a child
to follow rules.

1.5. Infant
- a child in the first period of life; a child under the age of 1 year; more
 specifically, a newborn baby.

2. Discuss parenting as to:

2.1. Methods of motivation for Parenthood
● Quit unhealthy habits; whether it be smoking, drugs, excessive drinking, or
even overeating, kids may pick up on bad habits.
● Perceive self as a parent and develop skills in having patience and
personal confidence
● Learn about child development in order to approach parenting with
positive and realistic expectations.
● Develop a positive approach toward raising a child and look for positive
things to appreciate each day. Parenting becomes difficult when focused
on the negatives.
● Develop practices that will carry over to an interaction with a child, such as
playing music, singing softly or speaking to a child.
● Focus on having a mutually positive relationship with partner and
decrease any hostility.
● If prone to depression or anxiety, seek assistance from a psychiatrist and
get social support for dealing with challenges.
● Consider the past experiences. Take advantage of opportunities to learn
positive ways of interaction if negative experiences have been dealt with,
such as mistreatment or abuse as a child.
● Read available materials or view educational videos on preparing for
parenthood or caring for a newborn child.
 2.2. Ways to prepare for parenthood
● Quit your bad habits
○ You'll have healthier kids
○ You'll have an easier birth
○ Your body will be ready to handle sleepless nights better
○ Kids mimic what they see their parents do
○ Being healthy might also help conception
● Learn to say "NO"
● Start building up a parenthood support
● Save up as much as you can
● Take vitamins and supplements pre-conception period
2.3. Factors affecting transition to parenthood:
1. Division of labor and perceptions of fairness:
- Women may be vulnerable to the impacts of new parenthood especially
since their workload tends to increase significantly in the early post-partum
period. (primary child care, and housework duties)
- If there are expectations that child care will be shared between partners
and is not met, co parenting experiences tend to be poor; especially since
women have more child care responsibilities.

2. Socioeconomic status:
- Parents with a low socioeconomic status may struggle with financial
insecurity and live in a dangerous neighborhood. So the natural human
response to stressful situations is to become more controlling in order to
feel safe. This is why these parents tend to adopt the authoritarian style of
parenting; mainly for the safety of their child.
- Parents with a high socioeconomic status is the opposite, if there are non
stressful external circumstances it often means more freedom for the child
especially since the fear for their safety is low. Parents feel safe letting
their children make independent decisions.
3. Parents’ parenting style:
- Our parents’ parenting styles may either function as ideal, a counter
identification (meaning we do not want to become our own parents, and
we reject their parenting methods and strategies) or somewhere in
between accepting and rejecting our parents parenting style
- 3 parenting styles: authoritarian (emphasizes obedience), permissive (few
behavioral guidelines, and authoritative (caring tone with structure, and
consistent limit-setting)
 4. Relationship factors:
- Married or cohabiting couples tend to have better relationships during the
transition to a parenthood than compared to non cohabiting partners.

3. Talk about parenting behaviors:

3.1. Parental styles of control
● Authoritative parents
○ who are the most responsive and nurturant, even though
they set limits on a child's behavior
○ They tend to have the most socially competent children.
These parents expect mature, independent behavior that is
appropriate to a child's developmental level.
● Authoritarian parents
○ who rigidly shape and control a child's behavior
○ Children of authoritarian parents tend to have less
self-esteem and to be less happy and outgoing; they are
often depressed, moody, and hostile and less coping ability
● Permissive parents
○ who are non-punishing and accepting of a child's behavior
○ Children of permissive parents tend to be impulsive,
aggressive and are often disliked by their peers
3.2. General guidelines for implementing child discipline
4 Key Factors Essential in Discipline:
● Reinforcement
○ If a behavior is followed by a reinforcer, the incidence of that
behavior will increase. It is therefore established and
maintained by reinforcement.
○ Provide the positive reinforcement of acceptance and
approval when a desired behavior is observed is a very
effective and safe -- socializing device for children.
○ Combine reinforcement with modelling, in which a parents
acts as an example to be imitated.
● Love
○ Do not make the provision of love conditional on good
behavior.
○ Attempts to instill disciplined behavior should never be
accompanied by a withdrawal of nurturance, love or
affection.
● Setting Limits
 ○ Rule of thumb: parents ask themselves if the limit being set
is necessary.
○ Parents can begin discipline using a negative voice and
stern eye contact
○ When the parent sets a limit, ensure that the child is offered
another, equally attractive activity and that the interaction
does not cause feelings of rejection or resentment
○ Limits set on behavior should be realistic and should be as
few as possible. Within these limits, children should be
allowed as much freedom as is practical.
○ Children should not be allowed behavior that is dangerous to
themselves or others.
○ Children should not be allowed behavior that infringes on the
rights and freedoms of other people
○ The limits on behavior should be expanded as quickly as
possible; that is, children should be allowed increased
freedom of movement and access to potentially dangerous
objects and activities as soon as their developmental level is
appropriate and they can be responsible for their actions.
● Punishment
○ The child must not be emotionally involved with the
punishment.
○ There must be no strong motivation for the behavior.
○ An alternate course of action must be available.
○ The punishment must be informative.

4. Explain parenting an infant as to:

4.1. Common behavioral problems of infants
Behavioral Problems of Infants
- Behavior is an action or response to stimulation.
- Piaget’s Sensorimotor Phases​ are composed of six stages but
Infancy focuses on ages birth to 12 months. Explains cognition or
the ability to know. Crucial events during these months involve
(Wong, 2015):
- S​eparation:​ ​where infants learn to separate from other
objects in the environment. Begin to realize there are others
than themselves that control the environment and certain
adjustments must take place for mutual satisfaction to occur.
 This coincides with Erikson’s concept of the formation of
trust and mutual regulation of frustration.
- Object Permanence​: R ​ ealization that objects that leave
visual field still exists. It begins at 4-8 months when the
object is beyond the perceptual range. But concept
advances at 9-12 months with the beginning of intellectual
reasoning.
- I.e. Go for an object they’ve observed that was under
a pillow or behind a chair.
- Mental Representation: t​ his is the ability to use symbols,
and symbols allow infants to think of objects or situations
without actually experiencing it.

Problem Age Description

Separation Begins 4-8 At this stage, Develop a sense of "object permanence."

Anxiety mos They're realizing that things and people exist even when
they're out of sight.
 - Awakening and crying one or more times in the
night after previously sleeping through the night
- Crying when you leave the room
- Refusal to go to sleep without a parent nearby
- Clinging to the parent at separation
Sleep problems may also occur with illness, consult
your baby's doctor if your baby begins having difficulty
going to sleep or staying asleep, especially if this is a
new pattern.

Stranger - At the beginning stage of 1-4 months, the infant can

Anxiety already recognize familiar faces, and shows awareness
of strange surroundings, indicating memory.
- Fear or wariness of people with whom a child is
not familiar with.
- Express their distress by “freezing” in your
arms.
- May remain very still and quiet
- Frightened expression on their face
- Until the stranger leaves or they
begin to feel more comfortable
around them.
- Crying
- Hides face on “strangers” chest

Aggression - - Babies if not fed and hungry, scream and wave

their arms and legs about, as this is the only way
they can convey their needs.
- If you meet your baby’s need right away they are
less likely to react in this manner to every
frustrating situation, as they grow older.
- A baby who is made to wait generally calms
down but his anger and aggression are then
directed elsewhere or contained and expressed
internally and manifest as failure to thrive etc.
Thumb and - At the stage of birth to 1 month. Repetitious use of
Finger reflexes establishes a pattern, and is self-centered.
Sucking Little or no tolerance for the frustration of delayed
gratification, and mostly reflective i.e. sucking,
swallowing, grasping, crying.
- Most prevalent when the child is hungry, sick, or
tired to soothe themselves
- Constant thumb sucking in a drowsy, apathetic
child is strongly related to the emotional
satisfaction of the infant or young child. It may be
a sign of emotional problems between parent
and child or of boredom, isolation, and lack of
stimulation.

Rhythmic - Include:
Habits
- Rocking
- head rolling
- headbanging
- Appearing in the second half of the first year,
these behaviors usually occur at the time of
fatigue, sleepiness, or frustration and serve as a
comfort to the child.

Breath - - A breath-holding spell is an involuntary pause in

Holding breathing, sometimes accompanied by loss of
Attacks consciousness. It usually occurs in response to
an upsetting or surprising situation.
- Breath-holding spells are usually caused by
either a change in the usual breathing pattern or
a slowing of the heart rate. In some children,
BHSs may be related to iron deficiency anemia​.

4.2. Role of the nurse in the care of a family with a healthy or ill infant
Education on:
● Birth to 6 Months
 ○ Teach parents about car safety with use of federally
approved restraint, facing rearward, in the middle of the back
seat—not in a seat with an air bag. Understand each
parent’s adjustment to newborn, especially mother’s
postpartum emotional needs.
○ Teach care of infant and help parents to understand the
infant’s individual needs and temperament and that the
infant expresses wants through crying. Reassure parents
that infant cannot be spoiled by too much attention during
the first 4 to 6 months.
○ Encourage parents to establish a schedule that meets needs
of child and themselves.
○ Help parents understand infant’s need for stimulation in
environment.
○ Support parents’ pleasure in seeing child’s growing
friendliness and social response, especially smiling.
○ Plan anticipatory guidance for safety. Stress need for
immunization.
○ Prepare for introduction of solid foods.
■ finely chopped finger foods
● soft fruits
● Vegetables
● Pasta
● Cheese
● well-cooked meat
● baby crackers
● dry cereal
● 6 to 12 Months
○ Prepare parents for child’s “stranger anxiety.”
○ Encourage parents to allow child to cling to them and avoid
long separation from
○ either parent.
○ Guide parents concerning discipline because of infant’s
increasing mobility. Encourage use of negative voice and
eye contact rather than physical punish-
○ ment as a means of discipline.
○ Encourage showing most attention when infant is behaving
well, rather than
○ when infant is crying.
 ○ Teach injury prevention because of child’s advancing motor
skills and
○ curiosity.
○ Encourage parents to leave child with suitable caregiver to
allow some free time. Discuss readiness for weaning.
○ Explore parents’ feelings regarding infant’s sleep patterns.

Sources:
Hockenberry, M. J., Wilson, D., & Rodgers, C. C. (2019). ​Wongs nursing care of infants and
children​. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.