Homeostasis Child Development

Child development can be understood as the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional maturation of human beings from conception to adulthood, a process that is influenced by interacting biological and environmental processes (Harden, 2013). Of the environmental influences, the family arguably has the most profound impact on child development (Harden, 2013). Dr. Victor Hinson describes a family as being a system. A key feature of the systems view of families is the concept of “homeostasis”, which is the way things are in the family as far as roles and rules. Gregory Batson believed that families live in homeostasis; also known as a balance, and when the balance is disrupted this can cause conflict within the family. Dr. Hinson gave us a personal

At the core of healthy family functioning is the idea of commitment. “In strong families, members are devoted not only to the welfare of thee family but also to the growth of each of the member” (Gladding, 2007). Families stick together through both good and adverse life events. Verbal or physical expressions of appreciation from family members strengthen the commitment in that family. Healthy families spend both quantitative and qualitative time together (Gladding, 2007). The idea behind spending time together is sharing thoughts, feelings, and identities. In the process, family members come to think of themselves as a cohesive unit and not just a random group of individuals (Gladding, 2007). Healthy family systems tend to work through conflicts with clear and congruent discussions and are open to talk than remain

When growing up in a dysfunctional family, one may experience trauma and pain which can have a negative impact in healthy development. Dysfunctional families can be described as strained and unnatural relationships between parents and children. Most families have some periods of time where functioning is impaired by stressful circumstances (death in the family, parent’s illness, etc (Zen, 2009). Unlike healthy family systems, unhealthy family systems may not talk about problems within the family which can lead to children not getting their needs met. Negative patterns of parental behavior tend to be dominant in their children’s lives. Unhealthy family systems can cause children to suffer from low self-esteem, feelings of anxiousness and depression, difficulty with social interactions, and some can be out of touch with spirituality. Adults raised with family dysfunction report a variety of long-term effects (Zen, 2009). These long-term effects can be rooted but not limited to deficient parents, controlling parents, and abusive