What does a baby need in order to give it a good start in life - Essay Example

This essay looks at these essential needs of a baby, by way of gathering supportive evidence from the Ria and Flynn text book and from other relevant scholarly sources. One cannot overstate the fact that babies should be treated with utmost care. It is true that their scope of expression is very limited, but they are capable of feeling and showing basic human emotions of happiness, sadness. It is the responsibility of the caretakers of the baby to keep the baby happy at all times by suitably responding to its calls of distress.

More importantly, the baby is capable of feeling whether it is truly loved or not. Only wholehearted expressions of love and affection from its caretakers will satisfy the child and help it grow into a psychologically healthy adult. The adage “spare the rod and spoil the child” is not backed by scientific evidence (Becker-Weidman, 2005). If anything, the evidence is contradictory to this assessment. Hence, caretakers should avoid corporal punishments to the child in the form of slapping, spanking, etc, as this could be detrimental to its healthy development.

For example, “Punishing may make the undesirable behaviour look more attractive and thus add value to it. Further, punishment may just teach a child how not to get caught. When parents or other adults inflict painful punishment, the children who receive them would learn that administering pain to others is also alright. When children mould their behaviour as ways to avoid pain, they are likely to end up as self-centred and selfish adults”. (Kohn, 2000) Whoever the caretaker is – be it a parent, foster parent or a baby sitter, they should attend to every need of the baby.

When the baby shares a close bond with the caretaker then the likelihood of attachment disorders are negated. When the baby’s needs are not being met consistently and if it develops a sense of loneliness as a result of it, then it is