engleski

Respecting the child through family relationships

For parents the child care starts in its prenatal development. Between the first and the sixth year the child, depending on the care of parents (guardian), is transformed into a person ready to explore the outside world. During the preschool years, the close and constant contact between the parents and child is extremely important for physical and emotional well-being, and for the gradual development of more autonomous relations. In this early developmental period the parents are expected to provide the support for the socialization of the child in the direction of a mature, responsible, productive, active, and functional member of society. In this paper the authors interpret the results of the research conducted on a sample of 350 parents of preschool children aged from three to six years. The accepted types of the child socialization in family (Baumrinde, 1979) were observed across the three dimensions of parental functioning - cohesion, flexibility, and forms of communication (Olson, Gorall, 2003).These three-dimensional model demonstrates the importance of balance in family relationships. Research results show that a large number of parents in the child-rearing use the unacceptable behaviors (threats, shouting, verbal abuse, physical punishment). According to their self-perception, the parents feel insecure and dissatisfied in the parental role. In the development of attachment, the formation of a very close relationship between parents and children is considered to be significant. Our findings suggest that many parents have failed to establish a specified level of closeness. The examination of dimensions of family relationships (family cohesion, communication and flexibility) suggest that in some families the expected family functioning is threatened. Among other, this suggests a negative family relationships, inappropriate communication, reduced degree of cohesion and rigid inflexible behavior, which represent an unbalanced system of family functioning. The relationships are chaotic and rigid, which indicates the inability to conduct the necessary changes within the family in new circumstances. Hereby, it undermines the possibility of mutual acceptance, trust, and positive family atmosphere that can result in negative consequences for children that persist throughout life. The healthy development of children, despite the fact that it depends on many factors, depends on a positive family relationships, as well as whether there is mutual respect within the family or the child's feeling that his parents respect him as a person who is worth their time and effort.

respect for children; family relationships; cohesiveness; communication; competence; satisfaction with parenting; child-rearing practices; metaemotion

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