28 Sep The Cotton Family

The Cotton Family – Case Study Assignment

Nancy and Paul Cotton are a professional couple who gave birth to their first child, Anna, after they had been married for 7.5 years.

Nancy said, “We wanted a baby but couldn’t decide when to have one. Finally, we realized that we could not control everything, or time things perfectly. No one can predict the future. So, we finally decide to go ahead and have a child as soon as possible. By the time we had Anna, I was 33, and our marriage and careers were established. We felt secure.

“Being an optimistic person, I guess I expected nirvana. Anna was difficult to deliver, and breastfeeding was a nightmare. Every time she nursed, it hurt. But I didn’t want to miss the opportunity. I was so determined. I used a stopwatch to make sure Anna got enough milk, and I gave her a pacifier for recreation. When she was five weeks old, I went off to our summer house on Martha’s Vineyard. I wondered if it was the right decision because there was less in the way of family and friends for support. But we worked things out together that summer. She was energetic from the first, and I was constantly sleep-deprived, but we were so close. I found ways to make it easier for us. I used the baby swing so that I could eat a warm supper every once in a while, and /I learned to give Anna pacifiers or bottles to soothe herself.”

Paul interjected: “She was like a miracle to me. She was fabulous! She even looked like me. I did as much for her as Nancy did, not out of guilt, but because I couldn’t keep my hands off her. At the grocery store, all the ladies crowded around me ‘How do you do it? You are so good with her?’ I learned all about babies from her. I can bathe a kid faster than anyone in the world.”

“Anna fit”, said Nancy. “From the time she was born, we’d pick her up and just go. As you can see, going is pretty important in our family, and Anna thrived on it. We were not the only ones who enjoyed her; my own mother thought she was fabulous. She took care of her part-time after I went back to work. I had a chance to see my mother be loving and kind, a good mother to Anna. It was like reliving my own childhood – another kind of miracle. You see, I’d had a sister, Ginny, who had died. Anna gave my mother an opportunity to heal the pain of Ginny’s death. This was true for me, too.”

Questions:

1.     Describe Anna’s temperament. What problems might the Cotton family have faced if Anna had been more passive, reserved, and inhibited?

 Question 1 Answer:

2.     Describe and assess Paul’s enactment of the father role. Describe and assess Nancy’s enactment of the mother role. How well do they match the features of sensitive parenting and healthy attachment?

Question 2 Answer:

3.     Anna seems to be influencing the well-being of her mother, father, and her grandmother. What impact does Anna have on each of these family members?

 Question 3 Answer: