Interactions are the key to a successfully developing child. Director of UMass Boston’s Infant-Parent Mental Health Program, Dr. Edward Tronick acknowledged that babies desire social interactions and are able to express their needs even before they are able to speak. Dr. Edward Tronick was able to prove this phenomenon through the “Still Face Experiment.” An experiment that illustrates the impact of connections as well as disconnections between a parent and their child. Through his acknowledgment, Dr. Edward Tronick has enlightened many, including me, how critical that type of relation is . The “Still Face Experiment” emphasizes the child’s response to the connection and disconnection with their parent. In the beginning of the experiment, …show more content…
A parent can be “still-faced” in several different ways. For one, they could be the type of alcoholic parent who would rather focus on their vices than the well-being of their child. Two, they could be a parent that has too much on their hands that they forget that their child, too, needs some of that attention; we call those self-focused parents. Three, parents struggling with a mental disorder like anxiety, depression, or a poor body image can be “still-faced” with their child because even their emotions are too complicated that they become unresponsive. It is critical for the parent to be responsive because a child’s needs go beyond the basic survival needs. They include the mental needs as …show more content…
Edward Tronick’s “Still Face Experiment,” we are able to acknowledge the importance of social interactions in relationships. The experiment proved that the way parents interacts with their child is significant to their development of communication and security. These interactions will later on allow them to become the confident person that explores and forms successful relationships with others. Parents who are “still-faced” over the course of their child’s life may be suffering from alcoholism, possibly afflicted by a mental disorder, may be too busy, e.t.c. We see parents being “still-faced” with their children in public and even in our own homes at times. A successfully developing child with strong relationships lives