Did you have a good childhood? This is a question that a lot of people may think about a few times in their life. One factor that plays an important role in deciding an answer for this question is how their parents’ raised them, that is if they had parents who raised them. Parents have their own ways of raising their children; however, some parents may use methods that they think, but in reality they are not, beneficial to raising children. There are certain methods, life lessons, as well as must haves that parents must give and teach to their children in order to help them grow up to be happy, healthy, and productive members of society.

Parents are the guiding force leading their children through life until they are ready to take control of their lives and be able to manage surviving in the real world on their own feet. In order to be an ideal parent there are some things that a person needs to be able to do and that includes look after their own children, make sure that they are healthy and happy, and most importantly love their children. Children need love from their parents and to know that they are loved by them. Loving your own child is the most important thing that a parent can give their children; however, that alone is not enough to help them grow up to be healthy and productive members of society. In order to be an ideal parent one must be able to give them kindness, be kind and caring, be able to discipline and give tough love when needed. A parent must be able to make sure that their children are in good health, receiving a proper education, eating healthy, and help with any problems they may have.  Parents also need to teach their children important life lessons, facts about the world, how to treat others, how to stand up for themselves and for others. Things that a parent should do is encourage their kids to be active with a group of people or in an activity, allow them to be able to enjoy life, teach them how to be independent and responsible as they get older, and be able to catch their children if they fall or stray too far away.  and make sure that their children know their own dignity and self-worth. Three of the most important things that a parent should give their children, alongside love, is letting them know their own dignity and self-worth as well as is teaching them to have a firm belief and faith in God and the church. Everybody should have someone to turn to, someone bigger than themselves to believe in, and will let them know that they do mean something.

A parent is someone who cares for their children and truly loves them, even if they may not be blood related. A bond between a parent and child is something truly special and unique. I might have said earlier that parents’ guide their children, but children also help guide their parents through life and through everything. Being a parent is hard and being an ideal parent is even harder, so even someone does not have all of the little details I have listed that does not make them a lesser parent, it just means that they are still trying to help raise their children as best as they can. On a final note being presented with the title of parent is a gift and not something be taken lightly.

The way I see it everyone has their own parenting style and there are many that can be effective. Based on theory I do not believe that their is a certain “parenting style” that will work the best. For the sake of the question being asked, I feel as though the best answer for what type of parents produce the kids who are, “most likely to produce children who grow up to be happy, healthy, and productive members of society.” is the authoritative role. This may be biased, but I was raised on this system and I feel as though it taught me the rights and wrongs and what would happen in the events of both happening. This style of parenting taught me discipline while at the same time allowing me to understand my mistakes without harsh punishment. With this type of parenting it allows for order and experimentation which I feel is needed in the life of kids, but it also allows for a figure to set an example for the kids to follow. With this being said I still feel this type of parenting is determinant on how the parent uses this approach and can still be a very faulty system if it is not performed well.

This is a tough subject. Anytime you try to correct bad parenting the pride of the parent tends to get the best of them and then any suggestion afterwards is thrown out. Other parents don’t even care about what they do wrong, because they never wanted their kids in the first place. There are a few precepts to establish in order to fully develop a successful individual from an infant. If the child is starting life in an unbalanced household missing a father, mother, both, or torn between two different households the child is going to be at a disadvantage from the start but, there can be measures taken to ensure the child still feels the same love, acceptance and experiences quality discipline just like a child would from a full household. For the sake of this post we will discuss how two parents in a successful marriage, who have well thought out and planned their pregnancy should go about raising their child into a competent, confident and successful individual.

When raising a child you have to realize you’re not perfect and your flaws will affect your children but that is not your fault and do not beat yourself up over this, it’s just how the cookie crumbles. Now that is not to say that you should be openly smoking, drinking, arguing, and cursing around your children. Children repeat and learn from everything they see and hear while growing up. If you’re worried about your children receiving negative habits from you the first thing you have to do is reflect on what issues you have that you can choose to change. What things do you struggle with that you can choose to withhold from your children? In order to keep from tainting their outlook on life and give them the best chance at making their own decisions when the time comes. A child is going to want to do exactly what you say they can’t do. In order to lessen the intense rebellion most children feel towards their parents you have to tell your child right from wrong and allow them to decide for themselves. Now don’t just let your child walk into a pit of flames. At certain times you must be the hand of God and take their decision making from them when you know that they are about to get caught up in something they can learn from while avoiding. Hopefully through actively teaching your child through your own life they will have learned by the time these types of decisions come their way that they will have your guidance in the back of their mind and since you did not beat them over the head with your beliefs they will gladly listen to that recording of your voice in the back of their brain. Raising a child is not a competition and your child is not to showcase your greatness, they are their own individual and you have to let them be themselves. When raising a child you have to realize no matter how much you want them to be a 5 year old forever they won’t one day they will have their own career, their own husband or wife, and a child of their own.

Their are a few things you cannot do if you want your child to become successful in this life. Do not let your child disrespect you. Once a child has found out they can do whatever they want and get away with it the battle to regain that dominance over them is increasingly harder to win as they develop. Do not dismiss and neglect your child. Once your child feels their feelings do not matter to you, they will begin to harness a hatred for you and this will play out in their rebellion later on in life. I think the biggest issue with parenting these days is the generational curse of bad parenting. It takes a momentous epiphany to break the vicious cycle of bad parenting. Without a doubt the number one tactic you must hold prominent over-all in child development is discipline you must teach your child there is a consequence for every action in this life. Discipline should not be such a fearful thing for a child. Your child should fear what you’re capable of because this is healthy for their respect for you, but their fear should be placed more in your disappointment rather than the lashings. Spanking your children only teaches them how to survive through the physical pain after they have committed an offense. All the belt does is relieve your stress in a negative way and develop small amounts of hatred towards you in their minds. Now if you and your child both know they knew what they were doing was wrong, yet they went ahead and did it anyways, this is parameters for a whooping. When you do decide you have to get physical with a child do not do it out of anger but out of level headedness with their future in mind. Do not get outrageous with the pain you submit them to. Do not bully your child. Spankings are a last resort not the first. Remember a slap to the mouth although is satisfying to you, is not what is best for the child’s self esteem, a bar of soap will do you and your child much better in the long run. Finally if you want your child to be successful in this life you must consistently push them to be their best and always let them know of your love and acceptance for them.

Hi everyone,

This week’s topic is:

Tiger moms, jellyfish dads, and helicopter parents. These terms all refer to various parenting styles and each has been both promoted as an ideal and criticized as “the problem with kids these days.” We will discuss parenting this week, but I’m curious what you think is the “best” way to parent. By “best” I mean most likely to produce children who grow up to be happy, healthy, and productive members of society. Write your post about the ideal way parents should raise their kids.

As a Chinese-American, I grew up with a Tiger mom. To make things equal, my dad was also quite demanding, just not as much as my mom. If you’re not familiar with the term “Tiger mom”, it is a strict mom who pushes her children to achieve high standards in academics and extracurriculars. The goal of Tiger moms (or parents) is to raise multi-talented and academically successful children. Although this may sound idealistic to some people, Tiger parenting has its negatives. Many children raised by tiger parents end up becoming productive members of society, however, they lack in happiness and health. A lot of Tiger parents are so focused on creating carbon copies of other “successful” children that they ignore and forget about their children’s emotions, thoughts and feelings. They forget that not all children are built the same way. They forget that there are more career options than doctor, engineer and lawyer. Most importantly, they forget that happiness is also connected to successfulness.

Coming from a background that highly values the act of working hard, I believe children should always be pushed to do their best. It depends on the parents’ values when it comes to how much a parent should focus on their children’s academics, activities and etc. Contrast to the limitations of Tiger parenting, I also believe children should be exposed to open options. It’s important for the child to discover what they like and want to do by themselves instead of having the parent decide  the child’s future. Parents should be a source of guidance and not a source of decision. They should establish trust and connection with their children through communication.

There is no “perfect” way to raise a child, considering that every child is different. In the end, parents will have to modify their parenting techniques as their children grow and change.

Holly

Although I believe there isn’t a single, “ideal” way for one to raise their children, there are several overarching themes that should be present in their parenting style. These themes include: unconditional love, discipline, and dependability.

It should go without saying that one should have unconditional love for their children. Since parents are the first support system that a child has, they should enthusiastically embrace what their child is passionate about. This means not forcing their aspirations on their child so they can discover their own meaning in life. They should also be sure to not love their children in spite of their flaws, but because of them. Parents should teach their children that it’s expected to have flaws and they’re a part of what makes us unique. Showing a child unconditional love early on helps them mirror the values of acceptance and fosters their sense of self-worth. They can now go on to build healthy relationships, founded on trust and acceptance, with people other than their parents.

Unconditional love goes a long way when raising a child, however, it should not be synonymous with negligence to glaring problems. Parents should always advocate for their child’s happiness within healthy/moral limits. They should be quick to steer their child away from habits and behaviors that cannot impact their lives in any meaningful way e.g. drug use. Discipline is often the hardest concept for parents to grasp since it can put a temporary strain on their relationship with their child. It is, however, critical to healthy development. With so many options in the world, discipline helps guide a child to a correct decision and, maybe one day, helps them make their own sound decisions. Discipline also teaches a child that they’re not entitled to everything just because they want something-which is a very important concept in the adult world.

Finally, dependability is a trait parents must show towards their children. As I stated earlier, parents are the first support system someone has. Due to this, children place all of their trust into their parents during early development. If a parent is undependable, a child feels as though they are not worth someone’s time and may begin to feel as if they are unwanted. Children must be shown this type of support so they know there are people in the world that will treat them how they deserve to be treated.

There are different types of parenting styles that are used to help children develop for the future. There is tiger moms, jellyfish dad, and helicopter parents as the different types of parenting.A tiger mom is very strict with her children because she is willing to push them to success and want them to be discipline for the adulthood.A jellyfish dad is more relaxed and gives his children more freedom to do what they want.A helicopter parent pays attention to their children problems and experiences.

Having a mixture of parent styles would be more  beneficial because kids will have freedom but also responsibilities to help children know about the choices they make and the consequences.Kids these days behave the way they do because their parents don’t take action to discipline them.Children are influenced by the actions they observe whether its television, school, friends, strangers or parents.Being a strict parent can cause the children to be successful or they can defy their parents by wanting to have their own freedom. A parent that is relaxed and laid back without concerning the life of their kids can lead to more freedom and can cause problems by being delinquents. Depending on the type of parenting styles is how children will develop.