Research and Writing

Research and Writing on Parenting Rough Draft

Tyvesia Shingles

Professor Clark

November 19, 2018

Research and Writing on Parenting Rough Draft

Introduction 

Parenting is one of the critical practices that adults can do to contribute to society positively. It entails the act of supporting and promoting the social, emotional, intellectual, and physical development of a child from childhood to adulthood. For one to parent; one does not need to be a biological parent of a child, but as long as one is an adult, he/she has the duty of executing parenting tasks to the child. However, some individuals feel that parenting should only be done by the biological parents or guardians directly taking care of children. Of importance and something that almost everybody agrees with is that a society is made up of people and the type of people in a community determined who ethical, moral, and organized that society would be. Good morals and behaviors should be learned first from home which is a small society under the guidance and leadership of parents. It is for this reason that I take the position that it takes good parenting to start, develop, and maintain a healthy family that would make positive contributions to society. This draft shall focus on providing supporting ideas and evidence as well as counter ideas.

Supporting arguments

Children are born in a vulnerable state where they do not know or believe in anything. Parents and guardians taking care of these children are the first people that children get acquainted with and try to learn from them. This means that children naturally develop high trust, confidence, and reliability on the people they perceive as their parents, and it is for this reason that the style of parenting a parent opts to use determines how the child would grow up and the type of person that the child would become in the future. According to Shah, & De Sousa, (2015); parents are responsible for their children and should invest in any way that they believe and feel would benefit the family. The reason is that what a child learns when growing up is the same thing that the child would use in the future and share with the other people that the child will come across. For instance, if a child is taught how to respect other people and the parent is also respectful in all aspect, the child is likely also to be respectful to his/her parents and members of the society. The more reason is that the article claims that whatever a child is given is the same thing that he/she gives back in return.

According to Sinno, Schuette, & Hellriegel, (2017) parenting is of different types and the type of parenting style that a parent opts to use determines the outcome of the child. If a parent makes use of good parenting style, the family and the society will have a good person as a child and as an adult that will positively impact the society. When a parent is too strict and dictates to the child, the style of parenting makes the child develop a negative attitude. Moreover, children are also human, and they appreciate being heard, when dictatorship type of parenting is applied, it causes more harm to the child than good (Carbines, Dickinson, & McKenzie-Green, 2017). It is even more hazardous when the parent adopts and uses the ignorant style of parenting because the child is left to do what he/she desired to lead to irresponsible decisions. Permissive style though it allows communication to take place but also denies the parent the chance to apply balanced power (Bartholomeu et al., 2016). Permissive style of parenting is not an advisable style that parents should rely on because children can only be shaped through the parent’s power over their child being felt in the right way. Listening to the children without making the right move might not have any impact, and the child might never learn.

However, the authoritative style of parent is the best that parents should learn and apply (Rezai Niaraki, & Rahimi, 2013). The reason is that it allows open communication to take place and expectations are set to clear which the children are aware and informed on how to achieve them. It is also a style that allows punishment to be applied where due and also ample support and encouragement from the parent which children need for stable and reliable growth to be realized (Bartholomeu et al., 2016). Moreover, it is the open communication and application of true parental power that enables the children to learn the vital social skills that further helps in eliminating levels of vulnerability and children learn how to become independent and defend themselves. 

Counter perspective

There are people in society who do not agree that good parenting is all that is required to build and sustain a healthy family that would eventually make a positive contribution to society. An example of these people is Gelber, & Isen, (2011); who claims that the investment that parents’ make in their children’s life has nothing to do with what children do or becomes in the future. In the article, the author claims that the life of a person from childhood to adulthood is surrounded by a lot of other factors from where the child can learn and opt to emulate. The author gives an example of a situation where the parent is a religious person and makes use of the best parenting styles and is always there for his/her children to offer any support needed. Upon the children joining higher learning institution, the child is carried away by peer pressure and befriends other children who introduce the child to drugs and unethical behaviors like alcoholism and smoking (Gelber, & Isen, 2011). Eventually, the child ends up becoming an immoral person who terrorizes and threatens people in the society while at the parents played their role effectively. Thus, the author concludes that parents can play their role in the way they know how but it is the decision that the child makes when growing up or as an adult on what he/she wants to become that determines the type of person that the family and society will have.

According to Rezai Niaraki, & Rahimi, (2013); it is not a must for a person to go through parenting for the child to become a reasonable person in society. The author provides examples of situations where parents die during childbirth or others are born in the streets where parenting is a hard thing to execute. There are many cases of children who have no parenting experience, and they have become essential and renowned members of the society for their good deeds. Hence, the author claims that if society can be a role model as a whole, parenting has no impact on the life of a child whatsoever. Moreover, Carrillo et al., (2016); claims that some parents have lousy living habits, for instance prostituting, alcoholism, and drug addiction and despite their behavior, they give birth to children who gradually learn and feel that their parents are not morally upright. Without the help of their parents they follow a different route and become better members of society than their parents. 

Conclusion  

Parenting is a good thing that parents should take pride in while executing. It is a role that grants a person a free chance to develop and make another generation, and the parent has the opportunity of determining the kind of future generation that the world will have. Parents are the closest people that children have whether biological or adopted, and the information and example that the parents share with the children have a high chance of determining how and what the child would grow to become. Parenting is the only thing that provides the child with all the necessities that would enable the child to grow and become a responsible member of society.

Nevertheless, it all depends on the amount of investment that the parent of the person taking care of the child is willing to invest. Limited or no investment on parenting would affect the child negatively as well as the society, and a good investment leads to a positive impact of the child. Thus, if society needs good families and members, it is crucial to improving parenting to form a solid and reliable foundation in children. It is of importance to note that there are opinions that have been raised that do not support the supported claim. Some people have raised objections against the idea of parenting being an overall pillar that determines the kind of a person that the child would grow up to become. There is substantial evidence provided for instance, a child being brought up in the right manner only to become an irresponsible, immoral, and evil person that is considered a threat by the family and the society. It is essential in the future to research and understands the various possible factors that affect a child growing up apart from parenting to understand the overall concept of the factors that play a role in developing a personality. 

Sources

Carrillo, S., Bermúdez, M., Gutiérrez, L. S., Camila, M., & Delgado, X. (2016). Father’s Perceptions of their Role and Involvement in the Family: A Qualitative Study in a Colombian Sample. Revista Costarricense de Psicología, 35(2), 37-54.

Carbines, M., Dickinson, A., & McKenzie-Green, B. (2017). The Parenting Journey: Daily Parental Management in Families with Young Children. Comprehensive child and adolescent nursing, 40(4), 223-239.

Gelber, A. M., & Isen, A. (2011). Children’s schooling and parents’ investment in children: evidence from the head start impact study (No. w17704). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/papers/w17704 

Rezai Niaraki, F., & Rahimi, H. (2013). The impact of the authoritative, permissive and authoritarian behavior of parents on self-concept, psychological health, and life quality. European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, 2(1), pp-78.

Shah, N., & De Sousa, A. (2015). Invest in family. Mens Sana Monographs, 13(1), 134.

Sinno, S. M., Schuette, C. T., & Hellriegel, C. (2017). The Impact of Family and Community on Children’s Understanding of Parental Role Negotiation. Journal of Family Issues, 38(4), 435-456.