Working with families. Opportunities for early intervention.
The birth or arrival of a baby is a defining event for families. Most infants progress through predictable, yet individual, patterns of development. All families want the opportunity to optimize their children's futures, yet each spurt of development is a transition that can stress the child and the entire family system. These biobehavioral shifts, or "touchpoints," provide opportunities for the pediatrician to help the family understand, adapt, enhance, and promote the child's outcome. This family level approach serves as a form of anticipatory guidance that helps both parent and child successfully manage the challenging phases of development: motor, cognitive, social, and emotional. The "touchpoints" concept can be adapted for the pediatrician to help older children and their families.
Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
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Brazelton
D002657:Child Development; D003376:Counseling; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008016:Life Change Events; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010819:Physician's Role; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D012944:Social Support