Anxiety in Infants
Anxiety is one of the most common mental disorders among the infants. Anxiety is expressed in various ways among the infants. Excessive crying and baby tantrums are some of the ways infants express their anxiety. However, the greatest concern is the source of their anxiety at this young age. Parents are the infants’ first interactions circle and therefore affect the infant’s social, cognitive, and mental growth. The parents therefore are responsible for the child’s reactions to the world in its first years. How does parenting affect the anxiety levels among infants? Does anxiety in the parents affect in any way the anxiety levels in the infants?
Infants require utmost responsive care during their first few days on earth. The mother is their main source of interactions among these infants. Proper interactions with the mother during this stage help the infant learn to trust the world. Failure to provide the infant with the proper interactions at this stage makes the child not trust the world. Lack of proper parenting makes the infants develop negative cognitions about the world. If the child does not learn to trust the world, he will live in constant fear of the unknown in the world therefore causing anxiety. Parenting is therefore one of the main factors affecting anxiety in children. Proper parenting gives the child enough exposure to the world to reduce anxiety in the children and therefore reduce the anxiety in the children. Infants who are not anxious are eager to explore the world and participate in new activities every day thus promote learning. (Goodman, S. H., & Gotlib, I. H. 2002).
Maternal cognitions are also another main factor that affects anxiety in children. Since the mother is the first source of interaction to the child, her beliefs, attitude and behavior affects the infant’s recognition of the world. The mother determines the first experiences of the infant, which not only affect its childhood but also its later days. The mothers concern in the child affects the child interpretation of the world. For example, some parents are more concerned with the health of the child and deny the child the needed exposure to activities that promote learning. Other parents are not sure of their parenting techniques and therefore fail to instill good behavioral patterns in the child. If the parents’ behavior is unpredictable and keeps on changing, then the child’s cognition of the world is affected and therefore it promotes anxiety in the children (Goodman, S. H., & Gotlib, I. H. 2002). The parent’s understanding of the world affects her key values and practices when bringing up an infant. This in turn affects the infants understanding of the world and determines anxiety levels in the infant.
Another important issue is how parents expose their young ones to new experiences in life every day. Every day the parents expose their children to new experiences that promote learning and the child’s perception of the world. If a child is exposed to predictable patterns and routines daily, it promotes learning. The routine an infant is exposed to at a young age determines the child’s trust to the world and therefore anxiety levels. Exposing an infant to a predictable routine makes the infant know what to expect after certain actions thus reducing anxiety.
In conclusion, the parents are the most important source of relationship in an infant’s life. The first few interactions with the parents determine the anxiety levels in the children. It is important for parents to learn to show positive attitude to their infants which reduces anxiety levels.
References:
Goodman, S. H., & Gotlib, I. H. (2002). Children of depressed parents: mechanisms of risk and implications for treatment. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
