Family as the Primary Context of Children's Development Paper Example

Catherine McMahon and Anna-Lisa Camberis explore families as the primary context for child development. They investigate common predictors of child welfare across different family structures and conclude that in determining the wellbeing of children, family processes are more important than family structure (McMahon & Camberis, 2017).

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The authors believe that the family context is a significant location where a child's learning, behavior, and development take place and recognize the importance of parents, primary caregivers, and other significant adults as a child's first educators.

They observed that regardless of the family structure, it is the quality of the relationship between parent (caregiver) and child that is central to the child's wellbeing. While they recognize that changes in family structures (such as divorce, adoption) can have detrimental effects on the well-being of children in the short and long term, they argue that caregivers can avoid this by acting responsibly and maintaining a stable and nurturing environment with a balance between ' warmth and control (McMahon & Camberis, 2017). .

The article identifies various determinants to the quality of parenting that caregivers can provide for their children and the implications of different parenting styles for children's development. The research finds that parent-child relationships are not only impacted by the social and economic resources available to the family but also the characteristics the child is born with including temperament, special needs, and genetic predispositions (McMahon & Camberis, 2017).

Additionally, by exploring various family structures in Australia and how they have evolved, including, for example, same-sex parented families, adopted families, blended families, single-parent families, the writers advocate a post-modernist position embracing more inclusive definitions that extend beyond monolithic interpretations and attempt to capture the real complexity of 'family.'

The fact remains that the parenting promotes more than just the development of an infant or child, but it nurtures his/her growth by guiding him on what is expected of him/her in the family and community (Fleer, 2018). Ideally, even with the current norms of the world affecting households, for example, same-gender marriages, single parenthood, and adoption of children there is still an opportunity for children to grow and develop in a better manner; thus, only if these parents care, love, guide, and ensure their children are natured in a style that fits the community standards (Levine & Munsch, 2014). Ideally, the complexity of a family differs, and it is not the complex system exposed to children that determine how children grow and develop, but the responsibility and the intensity of care provided by the caregivers that enhance and promote the levels of nurturing that encourages the development of the children.

References

Fleer, M. (2018). Child development in educational settings. Cambridge University Press.

Levine, L., & Munsch, J. (2014). Child development from infancy to adolescence: An active learning approach. SAGE Publications.

McMahon, C., & Camberis, A-L. (2017). Family as the primary context of children's development. In R. Grace, K. Hodge, & C. McMahon (Eds.), Children, families, andcommunities (5th ed., pp. 119-143). South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press.