The movie I chose to watch is Matilda, which was directed and co-produced by Danny DeVito. The film is a family comedy that touches on various aspects of parent-child dynamics, parenting styles, and attachments. In the movie, Matilda acts as the main character and is a member of Wormwood’s family. Her relationship is not quite good with her parents: hence she finds solace in the library to keep away from the insults her parents. Based on the film, this paper discusses the roles of caregivers, teachers, and children and some of the interventions parents might incorporate to improve the relationship with their children.
In the movie Matilda, Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood have failed their responsibilities as parents due to their ignorance and arrogance. They are so engrossed in stupid activities such as watching and fail to note the talents and abilities of their child. Matilda approaches them and tells her parents it is time for her to join the school, and her father terms the move as ‘nonsense.’ With this kind of observation, Matilda’s parents have failed to invest in their child’s education, judging from her exceptional skills in mathematics. The parenting style being portrayed in this case is neglectful and has adverse effects on a child who is still developing.
In this film, the parenting style creates a disorganized attachment between Matilda and her parents, making Matilda trust her teacher, Miss Honey, more than her parents. From a professional lens, parents need to have a sober relationship with their children. This does not mean that they have to be soft or rigid most of the time. A parent needs to be authoritative rather than authoritarian while bringing up their children. Being traditional outlines clear rules, support, independence, and response to a child, ensuring self-esteem, higher academic performance, and better social skills.
On the other hand, an authoritarian parent is unresponsive, gives strict rules to kids, and has high expectations, making a child have low self-esteem, be involved in drugs, and have poor social skills. In this case, the kind of parenting skills matters, and whichever a parent opts for affects a child positively or negatively. In the case of Matilda, her parents are neglectful hence cold and unresponsive, uninvolved, indifferent, and have no rules. Therefore, parents have an essential role to play with different parenting skills while bringing up their children. Still, parents should be authoritative while treating their children with love and understanding to bring out the best in them.
The roles should be the same for caregivers and teachers since they help shape the kind of attachment and parent on a particular child. For example, in the film, Matilda is not on good terms with her principal, Tranchbull, because she is authoritarian and aggressive.
On the other hand, Miss Honey is sweet to Matilda, and this act as redemption to Matilda since she has been a victim of rejection by her family, who do not even protest to the school to which she is being admitted. This shows that the kind of connections a caregiver, parent, or teacher has with child matters, and therefore, they need to strengthen such relationships. To create strong bonds, a parent may engage in activities their child loves more to show support. Telling a child’ I love you often assures them of a strong relationship with them. Lastly, listening to the child and playing together also strengthens bonds between caregivers, parents, teachers, and the children.