Parenting

(roommates: all a product of parenting)

There are three main styles of parenting; Authoritarian, Permissive, and Authoritative.

Authoritarian:

-This parenting style is all based on what the parent wants, the parents want perfect obedience from their children and are willing to go to extreme lengths to get it.

-The children obey out of fear more than anything

-The parents love their children but there is little if any two way communication

-The children DO NOT fail because their parents will not allow it, parents may step in and do things for their children if it looks like failure is a possible outcome

-Children from these homes either rebel as soon as they leave the house or they fail at life because they simply have learned no skills of life survival

Permissive:

-This parenting style is almost the opposite of the first, except for the fact that it is also self serving towards the parents

-The parents love their children but they want their friendship and set no boundaries or limits for them

-Children in this situation try everything and anything to get boundaries set, they will go to endless efforts, so they seem out of control

-There is a lot of communication and warmth, kids learn about life through personal experiences

Authoritative: (Democratic)
-This is the ideal style of parenting
-There is a lot of love and warmth, a lot of communication, and a lot of rules and boundaries for the children
-Parents do things to benefit their kids and they involve them in decisions
-Children have responsibilities and are a contributor to the family
-They are prepared and confident to go out into the world

Most parents are a combination of parenting styles, the most beneficial is obviously the Authoritative one, but it can also be the most difficult to keep up. Parents need to be consciously involved in their parenting in order to maintain a solid style.

Children need attention and they know how to get it.
-parents need to acknowledge good behaviors rather than always punishing bad behaviors
--the behavior that gets noticed will be the one they tend to keep
It is the parents responsibility to prepare their children for the world
-parents teach their children how to think and act in different situations
--at home is where they should learn Courage, Responsibility, Respect, and Cooperation
RESPECT IS A TWO WAY ROAD
-a child will not give respect to a parent if the parent does not respect the child-simply because they have not been taught how to give respect.

Work in the Family

(family dinner)

Work has changed over the years and with it, it has changed the family dynamics as well. The work that used to be done is farming which was usually a family affair. Everyone would know what the other did at work and if they had a hard time or a good day and everyone was more willing to help each other out. 

Now a days the father leaves everyday and the children go to school to learn and to play and the mother can also go to work if that is what they choose. The kids now have a new role of being a child, this changes the boundaries and now children are consumers instead of contributors. 

In my opinion Fathers need to be more involved with their families. There are studies proving that kids have better cognitive development when they have had early and often interactions with their dads. Also i think that women should stay home and raise their children and be available for them as a resource to learn and grow. Some people say being a stay at home mom puts an end to intellectual endeavors, i say that getting a job actually does this. When you have a job that is what you learn and what you know. At home a mother can learn many things from scholarly journals, talk radio, informational tv shows and through the many questions their children will have.

Also i think it is very important that kids have a balanced life. Yes it has been proven that kids need to play to grow but they also need to be taught responsibility and they need to contribute within the home. This helps with learning about the world and often times it helps build confidence and children actually take pride in helping the family.