Pediatricians' ideas about child development and education

Abstract

In Andalusia (Spain), pediatricians are the main formal counseling source about children's development and education. Unfortunately, there is a limited knowledge about their ideas, practices and skills to guide parents. In this study, through the content analysis of 26 pediatrician interviews, we describe their ideas and goals about anticipatory guidance. We also analyze their perceptions about parental practices and the educative messages given to parents. The results show that pediatrician agenda focus mainly on biomedical issues, such as nutrition, accident prevention and growth monitoring. Child development and education are not priorities and issues like psychomotor development and language are only approached to fill out medical records. Keywords: Pediatricians' Ideas; Parental Practices; Child Development; Child Education. ResumoNa Andaluzia (Espanha), os pediatras são a principal fonte técnica de aconselhamento sobre o desenvolvimento e a educação infantil. No entanto existe um conhecimento limitado sobre as suas ideias, práticas e habilidades para orientar os pais. Neste estudo, através da análise de conteúdo das entrevistas realizadas a vinte e seis pediatras, descrevem-se os objectivos da agenda pediátrica, as percepções sobre as práticas parentais e as mensagens educativas transmitidas aos pais. Os resultados mostram que a agenda pediátrica é centrada sobretudo nos temas biomédicos, como alimentação, prevenção de acidentes e crescimento. O desenvolvimento e a educação da criança não são prioridades e os temas relacionados com o desenvolvimento psicomotor e linguagem são abordados sobretudo para preencher a história clínica. Palavras-chave: Concepções; Pediatras; Práticas Parentais; Educação; Desenvolvimento Infantil.The task of parents is to create a safe, coherent and organized world according to norms, rules and values where their children can develop. In this regard, parents need information and orientation to help them make the best decisions and to feel confident about health, development and education-related actions. Parental educational practices do not occur in a void, and they are not automatic reactions to their children's behavior. Indeed, parents think, question, feel and decide (Monteiro & Castro, 1997;Nunes, 2008).An emphasis on the cognitive dimension of parental views in the 1980s stimulated research on parental ideas about the nature, development and education of children within the field of developmental psychology. Several studies have shown that parental ideas influence the relationships and educational practices towards their children, which can have significant consequences on children's psychological development (Goodnow & Collins, 1994;McGillicuddy-DeLisi, 1992;Palacios, Hidalgo, & Moreno, 2003;Siegel, 1992).According to Harkness, Super, Keefer, Raghavan and Kipp (1996), parental ideas are a product of the integration of parents' individual experiences and the cultural experiences of the family. Thus, the development of experience within the family and the community,...

¿Consejo o prescripción?: análisis de las recomendaciones pediátricas en las consultas del programa del niño sano

“…As children grow older, the frequency of prescriptions rises and the duration of the visit and the frequency of counselling decrease. This impoverishment of the contents of the programme has been observed in other studies 9,12,14 and is probably related to the fact that the paediatric agenda is so heavily focused on biomedical aspects. Psychosocial aspects, the family relationship, and education, are areas that are addressed only sporadically when these issues grow in significance as the child grows.…”

“…The paediatric agenda is organised according to a biomedical perspective in which psychosocial and educational issues are deemed secondary [9][10][11][12][13][14][15] . Still, paediatricians adhere to the general principles of health promotion 9,16 and the American Academy of Pediatrics 17 considers that psychosocial issues are growing in significance due to their frequency and relevance.…”

Percepção, Conhecimento E Prática De Pediatras Quanto Ao Posicionamento Do Lactente E O Desenvolvimento Motor

“…Embora a literatura indique que pediatras dediquem maior parte da sua consulta em temas biomédicos 23,25 , os pediatras no presente estudo afirmam estar atentos e orientar os pais dos lactentes sobre aspectos do desenvolvimento infantil. Os pressupostos teóricos que embasam estas orientações estão fundamentados na teoria neuromaturacional, embora abordagens ecológicas 21 têm sido bem difundidas na atualidade.…”