🚀 Mastering Parent-to-Child Control in React: The Power of Refs!

Ever wondered how to control a child component from a parent in React?

While props are great for passing data downward, sometimes we need direct access to a child’s methods—like focusing an input, resetting state, or triggering an action.

That’s where useRef and useImperativeHandle come in!

Here’s a simple example where a parent calls a child’s method using useRef:

✅ Key takeaways:

🔹 forwardRef() allows the parent to pass a ref to the child.

🔹 useImperativeHandle() exposes specific methods from the child to the parent.

🔹 useRef() in the parent stores a reference to the child.

💡 Real-World Use Cases

✅ Focusing an input field when clicking a button.

✅ Resetting child state from the parent.

✅ Triggering animations or external events in the child component.

This pattern is powerful but should be used sparingly—prefer props and callbacks when possible to keep React’s unidirectional data flow intact.

🔗 Have you used useRef to control a child component before? Drop your experiences in the comments! 👇

#react #javascript #coding