Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Pediatr Nurs. 2014 Mar 12;30(1):184–207. doi: 10.1016/j.pedn.2014.03.002

Table 1.

Foundational principals of Symbolic Interactionism and the application to parenting

Precept of Symbolic Interactionism Illustration in parenting
A person acts towards a thing based on the meaning a thing has for him/her. These things are all the things a person encounters in daily life (objects, people, feelings, concepts) (Blumer, p.2). A new mother finds it difficult to perform childcare tasks for and communicate sensitively to her new baby after her husband announces he wants to end their marriage (shapes communication with baby and tasks of attending to baby's needs).
Meaning is “derived from or arises out of the social interactions” a person has with other people regarding a thing (as defined above) (Blumer, 1969, p. 2). An exhausted mother feels better able to perform child care tasks for and communicate with her toddler after a trusted nurse practitioner points out and praises the benefits of a toddler's curiosity and energy to the exhausted mother, which helps the mother interpret the child's behavior and manage everyday childcare activities (shapes meaning child's behavior has for the mother and how she communicates with her child about it).
“Meanings are handled in and modified through an interpretive process used by the person in dealing with the things he encounters” (Blumer, 1969, p. 2).
A person recognizes the meaning a thing has initially through a process of self-awareness or self-communication and then begins to interpret and shape these meanings as she/he considers this sense of meaning. This becomes a guidepost for how to act towards the thing.		 The meaning of a child becoming incontinent (“having an accident”) (“it is a big deal” or “it is not a big deal”) arises from the parent's own interpretation of the accident (“this is more work for me” or “these things happen”) in relationship with the child (“she is just bad” or “he is so engrossed in playing”)and this shapes the way in which the father cares for and communicates with the child after the accident (rough handling of the child and saying “you are bad” or normalizing the situation and saying, “It's ok. Let's change your clothes.”)