Parental roles

An infant’s development is inextricably linked to the relationship with the caregiver. A sensitive relationship features reciprocal cue reading and responsiveness. As occupational therapists we consider not only the roles of being an infant but also the roles of the parent including:

• Interaction and attachment
• Nurturing roles such as feeding, sleep and settling and bathing/ dressing

Roles common to infant and parent are referred to as “co-occupations of infancy”; recognising the interplay between caregiver and infant. For many parents of typically developing infants, parental roles are unfamiliar and the parent may feel under-confident. For parents of infants with medical conditions or developmental concerns; this lack of confidence may be magnified considerably.

Practice points:

• Acknowledging the parent role includes asking permission to intervene
• Acknowledging parental expertise about the baby is an important part of respect for parent roles

Intervention may include (for example):

• Advocacy for parent to carry out parent roles (e.g. asking nursing staff to wait for parent to arrive to bath baby)
• Finding ways for parent to perform roles (e.g. adapting bathing equipment for parent confidence)
• Creating communication boards for parents to document baby’s preferences for others involved in care. This also assists with promoting consistent cues for the infant
• Working with the parent to increase confidence with reading an atypically developing baby’ cues
• Promoting confidence in parental expertise about the baby
• Developing parental confidence to provide positive touch and interaction with an unwell or fragile baby