General Psychology - Child Rearing

Kaelynn Seabolt

Mrs. Walburn

General Psychology

September 25, 2016

Child Rearing

Everyone has a different philosophy or way of thinking when it comes to the raising of children. The thought of children for me, has never been important or really thought about, but I suppose one must think about things like this at one point in their life.

When I was younger, us children were playing outside every chance we had, chasing the ice cream truck, and catching lightning bugs for hours at night just to put them in a jar to keep in their room. We didn’t have as many toys, especially electronic toys, and we also had not as many options. There was no debating on where to eat out that night, usually whatever mother cooked for dinner, everyone ate. No ifs, ands, or buts.

However, today as a growing adult and a potential parent, I should probably start thinking about my parental philosophy. Some things are the same as what my parents invoked, but a large portion are different. As we get older and evolve psychologically, we start forming our own morals and ethics. From these, we can form our own ideas on how things should be done, including the raising of a child. We are influenced by what we read, what we see happening in the world, and also what we have picked up from family and friends.

To begin with, I believe that a parent should always maintain an authoritative approach to discipline. I have witnessed many occasions where sometimes no means no and sometimes it means yes. This makes children confused and sometimes nervous as well. Parents should set simple but self-explanatory rules for children. I also think that these rules should be adjusted as the child gets older and more mature.

Another thing to keep in mind is that we are all humans, and we will all make mistakes, at every stage of the child’s development. Every person is prone to messing up, you just must learn how to admit the mistakes you have made and learn from them. This sets an example for the child and teaches them to do the same.

Something I have struggled with personally involving my parents is the ignoring of all feelings and opinions. Having a child means you are taking on a whole other human being that has thoughts and feelings too. They are just as important as yours and should be acknowledged a all times, whether it seems convenient or not. As the child matures and ages, they will form opinions and thoughts that you may agree with but they are their own person and they have the right to these things. You cannot discredit their feelings.

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