Responsible parenting: Parent–preschooler interaction skills

Abstract

This study introduces a model of research and formation of conscious and responsible parenthood which includes seven components: 1) value attitude towards the child; 2) knowledge of the age characteristics and organization of children’s activities, basic principles of education, effective methods and techniques for regulating the child’s behavior; 3) a positive and reliable emotional attitude towards the child, including sensitivity to his/her conditions, the ability to empathize, emotional attachment and the ability to provide emotional support; 4) a positive attitude towards oneself as a parent and a positive conscious image of oneself as a parent; 5) practical skills of interaction with children; 6) active interaction with the social environment and the education system in order to unlock the child’s potential in education and maintain his/her health; 7) awareness of parental responsibility and taking on parental functions; awareness of the fundamental involvement of the parent in the child’s upbringing and the uniqueness of parent–child relations as a model for building the child’s relationship with the world as a whole; priority of parents in the upbringing, training and development of the child. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of practical parental competencies, which include: a) methods, techniques, ways of interaction; (b) the ability to regulate the child’s behavior in problem situations; (c) the ability to understand the condition and needs of the child; (d) the ability to offer an appropriate solution in a specific situation (in accordance with the child’s needs and condition); (e) collaboration skills. We consider the parental position in the practice of interaction with the child through the prism of the internal conflict of duty and emotional acceptance, highlighting contradictions between the rule and empathy, between the attitude towards the child and the attitude towards society, and between the attitude towards the child and the child’s self-relation to himself/herself. We also analyze such areas of parent–child relations as methods of regulating the child’s behavior, conscious planning of upbringing strategies, the ability to rise above a specific situation and see it with regard to the child’s personality, age and individuality, through the prism of parental and universal values.