Parenting
I got the idea to write about after reading an article by ARTicLEE. I have read stories about children turning out a certain way because of how they were neglected by their parents while they were growing up. I am not an expert at parenting or raising a child, but I am still going to write about it anyway.
I never really understood how important and delicate parenting and childhood is until I had to do some research for a group assignment 3 years ago, in my sophomore year in the university. You see, I remember being grumpy about the topic my group had been given at the time because we were supposed to write extensively and give a presentation on the said topic.
While doing my research to come up with something substantial that I can compile and do a presentation on, I came across a lot of things involved in parenting and psychology of child development (Paiget's stages of development and Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development).
Reading all these things was an eye opener for me, and it is sad to say that a lot of people don’t know these things. Of course these are just theories, and theories like this are not necessarily universal. What I mean is: people can be oblivious of these things and still raise their kids the way they can and yet do excellently well. The only flaw in this rating is that a parent is often judged based on how their children turn out.
What I am trying to say is that one can have no moral values and that does not necessarily mean their parents have done a terrible job, it could be a conscious decision of said child to ignore all the morals his or her parent(s) have tried to instill in him. And of course, it can be the other way around too, a person might have moral values and be good and it may not necessarily be because of good parenting, but a conscious decision by the child to tow a just and right path.
Parents, especially rich parents have often made the mistake of neglecting their children. Of course, the reason usually is because they spend a lot of time away from home, either travelling on business trips, or working long hours. Usually in cases like this, the rich parents employ the services of house helps, nannies or babysitters to take care of their child(ren) in their absence.
While I don’t condemn this act, I will fault it if for no other reason, for the mere fact that you have created a problem by putting a middleperson between you and your child(ren). This middleperson often is the one who serve as the link between a parents and their children. Thus, creating unfavourable grounds for parent-child bonding.
The first step to good parenting I’d say is a good parent-child relationship. How can a child open up about his/her life to a parent who is like a stranger? How can you as a parent instill good value into a child with whom you don’t have a good relationship with? By no means am I saying parents shouldn’t work to provide a better life for their family, but is it wise to do so at the expense of the same family you want to provide for?
I have heard stories of children who come from a rich family blame their parents for how they turn out, simply because they were never there when they needed a parent, you would also hear these rich kids talk about how their parents only splash money at everything. It isn’t about giving them all the money in the world. Sometimes, it is the little love and being there when they need you. A simply pat on the back to say that I am here, a hug, a smile for reassurance, it is these little things that makes the biggest difference.
I have said at the beginning of this article that I am not an expert at parenting, neither do I have it all figured out. I am not even a parent yet, neither am I married even, but I don’t know what the future holds, and this is merely how I feel about parenting. I feel family has a big role to play in the society, as it is the basic unit of the society, and to effect real change in the society, we have to start from the family.
Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤
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HAHA as a parent I never think my child as a child always. Maybe when she grow more I think she is more matured than me, she's a smart girl. I sometimes treat her as a best friend not my daughter, so funny that sometime she called me "Mama" and the same time "ate" . I want to grow her a parent and God fearing one. So I tried my whole best to do my part.