Parent-child interaction model is a middle-range nursing theory by Kathryn E. Barnard. The model assesses the behaviors of both children and parents to identify children at risk such as those experiencing a failure to thrive, severely sick newborns, and children who have suffered abuse and neglect. The model by Barnard investigated the environmental factors that are necessary to ensure a child’s well-being in terms of physical health and mental status. Parent-child interaction model concluded that the parent-child relationship is an essential component of later ability to think and speak clearly, indicating that early interactions with parents have the ability positively influence the development of the child.

Barnard established the Nursing Child Assessment Satellite Training (NCAST) program helps nurses to determine the positivity or the negativity sensed by the parent-child interaction. The parent-child interaction has important implications in supporting the health of the child. This is because they require a close system to positively influence their recovery and health maintenance. Bernard’s Parent-Child Interaction Model was developed in the 1960s and continues to be applicable to the study of children’s health today. To ensure that children are at their appropriate developmental stage, it is therefore necessary for health care professionals to emphasize the importance of familial closeness when a newborn is being raised into an adult. While this relationship has an indirect impact on the health of the child, young children need a support system to be in place so that they can effectively cope with their sicknesses and develop a manner of order in their lives that allow them to approach their health similarly as adults.

The parent-child interaction model can impact patient care since children are more likely to recover quickly if a supportive parent is present. The love and care that they show towards their children provide the children with the motivation necessary to recover. The relationship plays both a physical and mental role in the development of a child. When parents support the care of their child, it makes it easier for the nurse to ensure that all recommended health interventions are being followed, which ultimately increases the likelihood that the patient will achieve the expected recovery. A positive parent-child interaction allows the child to be capable of achieving positive medical results. MLA