HW 57

Part 1

I believe that parenting has no guidebook, or shouldn't have a guidebook to say the least. Everyone is supposedly brought up differently in certain aspects or another, which constructs the individual's future as a person. Its something I would like to get off my chest before I go any further into the topic or "parenting". Though I do certainly have ideal ways of parenting.

Everything needs balance and I believe it is the hardest thing to truly have, but in parenting I feel that it is vital. One thing I want so see more often from parents today is trust towards their kids. No matter how much they are the kid's parents, the period in which they should have "ownership" over them ends quite earlier than 18 even though legally they have responsibility. Letting their kids go is the hardest part, and is something I've experienced as a child. Ever since middle school my parents gave me freedom to make my own decisions and never hovered over me, but occasionally checked up on me.

A big factor is "space" that needs to be given to kids starting at a certain age. I've heard many cases where the parents attempt to control how their child routes their own lives, but that’s nothing more than owning a puppet. A big part of our lives is becoming a strong individual and the only way to learn is trial and error, since life is never explained in a textbook. Giving space also reassures the kid that they are being trusted, though most cases the parents are worried all the time this is where they should hold back a bit until the kid does something extreme.

I feel like parenting is a very emotional process that alternates constantly. Keeping a strong policy in parenting is probably the key to being a good parent, as long as the policies don't consist of anything extremely outrageous, but the variety of parenting is what creates the variety in people.

Part II

The article "When Parenting Theories Backfire" displays the adaptive nature of children, or people. The freedom of choice is very important in a child's life since it gives them a chance to understand the meaning of consequences and the differentiation of right and wrong. Also being too overprotective over your child will cause them to live life according to the parent, where their opinion is never really heard therefore causing many problems in the near future. I found it interesting and humorous that the kids learned to utilize their mom's strategy in order to manipulate her back. I guess it just shows that balancing out freedom and rules is the only way to keep kids strong but happy. Quite a complex thing to do.

The article "Understanding The Continuum Concept" shows the flaws in western child-care practices. Concepts such as maximum physical contact with the child or acting according to the signs that are shown by the infant are not seen in many cases. They also state that when the baby cries some parents show very immense attention towards the baby making them the center of attention, I feel like though it states that this reaction is not the best for the baby it is the case for new parents who are overjoyed by the fact of having a kid. The article proves one point, but pretty much states the same for other extremes which seems a bit absurd. I'm unsure whether they are trying to tell parents to act casual while nurturing a baby. This obviously won't be a case for most, since having a baby is not a situation that can be dealt with casually.