CHILD - PARENT

INTERACTION
THEORY
developed by Kathryn E. Barnard
Kathryn E. Barnard
• Barnard was born in 1938, in Omaha,
Nebraska. She graduated from the University
of Nebraska with her bachelor of science in
nursing in 1960.

• Dr. Barnard founded (2001) the Center on

Infant Mental Health and Development at the
University of Washington to promote
research, education, and practice and to
advance policy related to the social and
emotional development of all children during
the first five years.

• Served as a board member of Zero to Three,

a national nonprofit organization founded in
1977 that supports early childhood
development.
OVERVIEW OF THEORY
• She developed the Parent - Child Interaction Model to depict
strengths and weaknesses in interactions between infants and
parents/caregivers and to direct behavior-specific interventions
to foster children’s social-emotional, cognitive growth, and
development.

• Healthy child development is dependent upon the

parent/caregiver responding to signals from the child in a loving
and dependable manner, starting from the moment of birth.
(Qaiser, 2014).
Major concepts include an
intersection of Caregiver,
Environment, and Child
that focuses on the growth
and development of
children and mother-infant
relationships.
 NURSING PARADIGM
• Person. Barnard describes a person or human being, she speaks of the ability
“to take part in auditory, visual, and tactile stimuli, but also being able to put this
information to meaningful use.”
• Health. Although Barnard does not define health, she describes the family “as
the basic unit of health care.”
• Environment. Environment is an essential aspect of Dr. Barnard’s theory. “In
essence, the environment includes all experiences encountered by the child:
people, objects, places, sounds, visual and tactile sensation"
• Nursing.
1966– “A process by which the patient is assisted in maintenance and
promotion of his independence”
1981 – “The diagnosis and treatment of human responses to health problems
PARENT-CHILD INTERACTION MODEL
STRENGTHS
Dr. Barnard’s model displays how
simple concepts are important and
our social interactions are integral
to the success or improvement of
behavioral and mental
development.
WEAKNESSES
Some criticisms include how Dr.
Barnard’s theory is population-
specific but not according to
disciplines, which can also impact
early interactions if someone is not
trained with infants. There’s also
little information about the
maintenance of a stable
environment.
MEMBERS:
Adrian Lawas
Bilshan Otaza
Andrew Callo
Jedrilyn Canopin
HTTPS://PMHEALTHNP.COM/KATHRYN-BARNARD-CHILD-INTERACTION-
THEORY/