Connect: the parent–child relationship

Abstract This chapter focuses on attachment and the emotional availability of the parent–child relationship, its qualities, how it is created and maintained, and its importance during the course of child development. The emotional quality of a child’s relationships with parents and other caregivers impacts upon that child’s developing psychological adjustment, emotional development, social competence, and his or her own capacity for forming meaningful and lasting emotional connections with others. We provide a thorough analysis of attachment and emotional connection from a developmental and behavioral perspective, including the role of symbolic responding. A key determinate of the emotional bond between parent and child is that the parent develops a sensitive and responsive pattern of parenting behavior, and as children develop, this emotional connection includes acceptance for and validation of the child’s emotion. While the child’s needs from the parent will change across development, the emotional availability of the relationship remains important.