Rites of Passage
The relationship between children and their parents has long been documented as one of the most important influences on a child’s development. This relationship will change dramatically throughout the different stages of childhood through to adulthood. These are the Rites of Passage for children and their parents. It is the journey that they will take from babe in arms to toddler tantrums and teenage tears. Although this is a journey well-travelled by the parents who went before us, it can nevertheless feel challenging and even lonely sometimes. This may seem strange but living, as many of us do in Luxembourg, without extended family or a recognised cultural peer group, many parents can feel isolated and not sure whom to turn to for support or advice.
Passage is a parent-to-parent support group whose intention is to support parents on this journey. We believe that every parent given encouragement, resources and a sense of community can discover their richest selves both inside and outside the role of parenting. We have found that parents often find it useful to be aware of their child’s needs at each of the developmental stages. This will help him or her to understand better what is appropriate behavior for each stage (in general) and what they can do to support the growing relationship with their child.
To explore these developmental stages or Rites of Passage for parents it is important to focus on different areas in which children change, as they grow. These include physical, intellectual, language (communication) emotional, and social development. In the following sections we will look at developmental stages by ages from prenatal to children leaving home. There will be age appropriate suggestions for parents and links to further reading or other resources where possible. Words in bold are terms or links to further explanations. Every child and parent’s journey is unique and therefore they may experience developmental stages or developmental milestones at different times. These stages may even overlap. In this context we have used them as merely indicators of the changing and deepening relationship between parent and child.
Please note that we welcome feedback on all sections of our website. This is a community resource and is therefore changing all the time. Please inform us if you experience any difficulties with links to further resources or if you have suggestions that might be useful to our community.