Modern Parenthood through the Eyes of a Psychiatrist*

Child Psychiatry has always described disorders of childhood. Parents form an important dimension of Child Psychiatry since they present the child's behaviour before the therapist. Modern life is full of increasing competition among children, thereby increasing stress among children as well as parents. Modern parents are overly aware, concerned and anxious about their children's future. As a result children get under the pressure of comparison, competition, ambition and goal-setting. All this typically results in the vicious cycle of parental pressures, miscommunication, generation gap etc. No textbook gives clear-cut guidelines about practical aspects of parenting, which is more an art than a science. Dealing with parents in therapy has to take into consideration their psychological make-up and the way it relates with the child. For professionals it is important to empathise with the parents in therapy and at times to share their own experiences of parenting.