Parenting in context
Section snippets
Epstein׳s behavioral account of infant crying
This article was prompted by reading a recent paper in this journal (Epstein, 2012). In it, Epstein (2012) poses the following question: “how should a parent respond to a crying baby?” He suggests that there are two well-known options: to ignore the baby׳s cries or to respond immediately. Epstein (2012) then presents an excellent behavioral account of infant crying, which suggests that it is often a respondent behavior elicited by an aversive conditioned stimulus (CS) or unconditioned stimulus
Developmental context
Crying behavior shows a natural developmental trajectory, peaking during the first 3 months of life and decreasing after 3 or 4 months (Wake et al., 2006). However, there is no scientific consensus on the reasons for this developmental pattern (Douglas & Hill, 2011a). Excessive crying in the first 3 months may indicate the presence of a feeding problem or a medical condition; however, often the reasons are unclear. (Douglas & Hill, 2011b). One explanation is that it reflects a sensitized stress
Non-crying signaling behaviors
Epstein׳s (2012) behavioral account of infant crying and other behavioral accounts of crying as an operant behavior (Glavin & Moyer, 1975) do not consider the influence of competing non-crying signaling behaviors. A newborn infant is equipped with a range of respondent signaling behaviors or cues, including but not limited to crying. For example, in response to the UCS of hunger, a newborn may demonstrate numerous respondent signaling behaviors, including mouth opening, lip smacking, and
Contextual account of parental caregiving
A contextual understanding of parental caregiving (the other side of the parent–child interaction) is necessary to answer the question posed by Epstein (2012) appropriately. Firstly, it is likely that crying is an aversive UCS, eliciting parental attending behavior (Boukydis & Burgess, 1982). Other infant respondent signaling behaviors may also serve as UCS, and it is likely that many come to serve as CS, eliciting attending behavior in parents. For many parents, attending regularly to their
Long-term developmental perspective
To answer Epstein׳s (2012) question, it is also necessary to take a long-term developmental perspective. It is possible that, of the three proposed strategies, one strategy is superior in terms of a reduction in crying behavior during infancy, but a different strategy holds a long-term benefit. It may even be the case that there is not one clearly superior strategy, with one approach offering one set of long-term benefits and another approach offering a different set. It is plausible that, with
Call for a new contextual approach
To improve our understanding of child and parent behavior during infancy and to support parents, it is necessary to look at infancy through fresh contextual eyes. At present, behavioral understanding of infant behaviors are piecemeal, focusing on one infant behavior during infancy itself without taking into account the full behavioral repertoire of the infant, without developing a contextual understanding of parental responses, and without taking a long-term developmental view. This can only
My solution to the crying baby problem
For the reasons outlined above, I would encourage parents to begin life with their newborn child by paying attention to their infant, enjoying their child, noticing the rewards of parenting, discovering their parenting values, and responding immediately to all recognizable signaling behaviors. The most important task in the immediate postnatal period is for parental caregiving behavior to be brought under appropriate and appetitive contextual control so that parental enjoyment and flexibility
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Cited by (11)
Improving flexible parenting with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: A case study
2018, Journal of Contextual Behavioral ScienceCitation Excerpt :In particular, knowing the development and maintenance of their behavioral repertoire, such as the role of their reaction to the literal content of thoughts (cognitive fusion) in their acts as parents, could lead them to experiential avoidance in their attempts to deal with distress. Finally, if experiential avoidance is maintained, it can be manifested in maladaptive parenting behaviors (Cheron, Ehrenreich, & Pincus, 2009; Coyne & Wilson, 2004; Whittingham, 2014). In a longitudinal study, Williams, Ciarrochi, and Heaven (2012) explored the relationship between parenting styles and psychological flexibility in adolescents, and found that authoritarian, intrusive, controlling and cold parenting styles had a negative influence on adolescent psychological flexibility.
Connect and shape: A parenting meta-strategy
2015, Journal of Contextual Behavioral ScienceCitation Excerpt :Common specific examples include: expressing emotions verbally, asking for help and problem solving. Connect and shape requires parental psychological flexibility, empathic understanding of their child (Coyne et al., 2007), acceptance of their child׳s emotions (Ramsden & Hubbard, 2002) and defusion from verbal parenting rules (Whittingham, 2014). ACT should be drawn upon as needed to promote flexible parenting in conjunction with connect and shape.
Article effectiveness of a web-based intervention on parental psychological flexibility and emotion regulation: A pilot open trial
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