There is a common social belief that generally women are better parents than men and the previous experiences show that this has led to certain consequences. Of course, it would be brutal and unreasonable to state that there are no males, who can raise the children better than females, therefore I will not say that in all cases women are better parents than men, as ideally, the child should get the equal attention from both parents in order to get the proper upbringing, but in the majority of cases it is possible to say so. In the given paper I will prove the established before the statement that in most cases women are better parents than men.
In order to be reasonable and just it is necessary to regard the weak and the strong sides of both parties concerning this dispute, and how those weaknesses and advantages may affect the child. The fathers are traditionally imagined to be the money earners, who spend all their time working in order to provide their family with the necessary costs for living. Therefore, one can suggest that they do not have enough spare time for the upbringing of their kids, thus the latter ones may psychologically feel themselves short of fathers participation in their affairs, attention, love, and care.
But nowadays, certain social changes appeared in society, and women can be seen earning money from the early morning till the late night as well as men. So, it might be suggested that the above-described situation, when the child is left without care and attention, can also happen with the female parent. Nevertheless, looking around, one may firmly assert that still, the majority of the working parents are males; therefore, they can not spend enough time communicating with their children.
Because of historical and social reasons, women are likely to be regarded as much more forgiving and caring than men. Of course, it would be wrong to state that males are incapable of having such inner qualities, as everything depends on the personality of the parent. In some cases, womens parents can act with their children even worth than strangers. But, nevertheless, the various polls and public opinions proved that females are likely to forgiving and caring.
One may assert that those qualities are necessary, especially when dealing with the kids who unintentionally get into trouble, and they are afraid to tell their parents about that because of the fear that they will not understand and forgive them. In this case, the female parent is capable of providing her kid with the necessary understanding and forgiveness, which helps to avoid the psychological trauma in childhood, and thus, problems in the future that could have been caused by such trauma.
The men tend to be stricter with discipline and demand this from their children. This personal quality is also defined by historical and social factors. It is impossible to state that the discipline is unnecessary, but one may suggest that it is not a crucial element in the upbringing process. It even can be stated that the blind parents request for discipline from the child, may lead to psychological trauma, because the kid may become unsociable and reserved. Therefore, one may suggest that the discipline should be not very strict, but mixed with understanding and penetration of the parents, and women fit perfectly for the fulfillment of this task.
Another sad, but demonstrative example in defense of the view that females are better parents than males, is the issue of single mothers and fathers. It can not be stated that the men are not capable of bringing up their children perfectly, as numerous experiences showed that single fathers created happy and comfortable family conditions for their kids. Nevertheless, it is a well-known fact that in the majority of divorce cases, courts decide in favor of women, but maintain visits from men.
Of course, everything depends on the particular circumstances in every single case. But one can firmly agree with this, because of all of the above-provided arguments, moreover, one considers the visits of men (fathers) as a necessary condition for the mental health of the children, in order to avoid some future confusions or uncomfortable situations, and therefore, probable psychological traumas.
Following this, one may say that even in families, where children have both mother and father, the participation of parents in the upbringing process is not equal. Of course, every single case depends on various circumstances and shades, but as the practice shows, the common social belief that generally women are better parents than men seems to be rather convincing.
Traditionally, the role of raising children was the mothers. Therefore, it is often considered that women are better parents than men. However, today, circumstances have changed, and both the father and mother are responsible for bringing up the children. There is a stronger bond between a mother and child from birth. The relationship that a mother forms with the child during pregnancy is evident even after the child is born. Mothers will do everything to make sure their children are alright. This is unlike the fathers who always act aloof. This is an argumentative essay that aims to prove that mothers are better parents than fathers.
A Mother is Better than a Father Gender Inequality in Parenting
Mostly, fathers appear to have a weak bond with the children. Fathers are detached from their children and can quickly desert them, while women can not. One of the reasons why fathers seem less committed to their children is because most fathers are not sure about the paternity of the child. For mothers, there can never be such doubts. However, the father cannot be sure that the child is his, and this is the gender difference. Therefore, he is reluctant to support and spend his resources on a child that could be another mans (Kazanawa par 4).
Another reason for the lack of a strong bond between a father and the children is because men have a more significant potential to have more children than women. The men can get children throughout their lives while this is not possible for women after menopause.
Therefore, the men are not so attached to their children because even if they lose them, they can always have some more. That is why the majority of men can abandon their wives and children and move on to start another family. (Kazanawa par 7). Fathers may be considered biologically inferior parents. This discussion aims to prove that women are better at parenting than men.
Reasons Why Mothers Are Better Parents than Fathers
Many communities assign the role of caring for children to the mother while the father is expected to provide for the family and instill discipline in children.
The father is thus distanced from the children because they fear him as they view him as a disciplinarian. Today, there are no distinct roles expected of either the father or mother. In most homes, both the father and mother share the responsibility of providing for the family.
There are also many homes with one parent because of divorce or the death of one parent. The role of upbringing their children should be shared between the mother and the father since both of them go to work. However, fathers do not participate much in raising their children.
Mothers spend more time with their children and, therefore, the children form a better connection with them. A hormone called oxytocin enables the mother to bond better with the child than the father. It allows the child to feel secure as long as he/she is with the mother. When the mother leaves, the child gets upset and cries but is happy again when she returns.
This is the reaction of the hormone. It makes the child know that the mother will always be there and will never let him/ her down (Kuchinskas 31). From birth, the mothers spend more time caring for the child. At this stage, the child needs a lot of attention and specialized care, and the mother is the one best suited to do that.
The father only comes in when the baby is older. Therefore, women are better parents than men. Opponents of this position may argue that fathers are better at parenting since they provide financial support. However, active involvement in a childs life is the most important kind of support in family for children when they are growing up because it shapes their psychological development. Therefore, there should be no differences between female and male parenting.
Both parents need to be aggressively involved in the nurturing of the child. In any case, even mothers are in employment, and both parents share the responsibility of providing for the family. Therefore, men cannot excuse themselves from the role of nurturing the child based on providing financial support as their role is of great importance.
Impact on Childs Emotional State
Mothers are more emotional than men. They are more sympathetic and understanding of their children whenever they are in trouble (Weiten, Dunn and Hammer 344). A mother may even defend her children when their father is angry and wants to punish them. Children, therefore, see the mother as a source of comfort and protection and will seek help from her whenever they need something.
They will invariably run to her when they experience problems. The father is less emotional and less likely to sympathize with the children. Therefore, they will not feel free to share their issues with him. The children tend to love the mother more than the father. One might object here that being very emotional and soft on the children might spoil them and make them unprepared for lifes challenges.
One might argue that men are not overprotective and are rough with the children, and therefore, they teach them to be courageous and go-getters in life. They believe that softly treating the children will make them cowards and reluctant to deal with tough situations in the future.
However, the way men treat children may have a detrimental effect on them. This is because treating children harshly and aggressively may affect them emotionally, and this may impact on their future lives as adults. Research reveals that childrens upbringing affects how they relate with others in the future, how they perform in school, and the way they handle challenges. Children who experience violent treatment are impoverished at socializing with others (Attili, Vermigli and Roazzi 24).
Women have better rearing skills than men because that is what they grow up practicing. The parents assign their daughters the roles that involve caring and nurturing. Therefore, by the time they become adults, they have perfected these skills. As they grow up, girls will engage in motherly activities like caring for their dolls or younger siblings.
Boys, on the other hand, are not concerned with such roles. They are interested in rough games and machines, and these do not prepare them to nurture their children. As a result, they grow up without a clue about how to raise their children.
Furthermore, women tend to be gentler than men. They treat the children well while the men are rough and sometimes violent (Weiten, Dunn and Hammer 343). Raising children is a task that requires a lot of patience, gentleness, and tenderness. Women can withstand irritating situations like the constant crying and nagging of a baby. As such, many people believe that women make better parents than men.
Men do not possess such traits and will quickly get angry and impatient with the child. They might even be tempted to yell or hit the children. A child at this stage requires to be taken care of by someone with the right qualities.
Communication Shouldnt Be Neglected
Communication aspect should also be reviewed to answer the question Are women better parents than men? Women also have better communication skills than men (Weiten, Dunn and Hammer 344). As they grow up, children need to be listened to and understood. They also need to be advised and reproached. Women can achieve this through proper communication with the children.
Lack of communication between the children and the parents can lead to children looking for answers from other sources, like the peers and the media, which can be misleading (Kanazawa 2008). Mothers will, therefore, be seen as better parents because the children will always prefer to share their problems and concerns with them than with their fathers. Men are less expressive than women and this is another point why mothers are better parents.
Another reason why women are better parents is that they are more conscious and conscientious to the needs of their children than men. When babies cry, the mothers maternal instincts will enable them to know what they need. It is not easy for a father to understand what a crying baby needs.
A young baby needs to be understood and attended to accordingly. This makes the women better parents than the men (Frodi, Lamb, Leavitt and Donovan 190). Critics of this position may argue that fathers are good parents because they will be involved in caring for their children later when they grow older and no longer need so much attention. However, the father needs to be actively engaged in raising the child from birth because his involvement is most critical when the child is young.
Women are more sympathetic and softhearted than men (Costello par 6). Sometimes children go through experiences that require the parents to be compassionate and comforting to them. Mothers are perfect at this, while fathers are not willing to show emotion as it might be seen as a sign of weakness.
Fathers want to be perceived by their children as severe and in control. Most of them will always admonish their children. This alienates many fathers from their children as they will always choose to share their concerns with the mother. Of course, the father needs to appear tough so that the children can be well-disciplined, but overdoing it might scare them and negatively affect their relationship.
Do Women Make Better Parents than Men?
From the above discussion, it is clear that women play a more significant role than men in bringing up children. There are several reasons why mothers are more important than fathers in the family. They provide the right environment for the healthy upbringing of a child. They do this by actively participating in nurturing the child since birth. Carrying a child through pregnancy establishes a powerful bond between the mother and the child.
Mothers also provide comfort and sympathy, which is critical in a childs psychological development. Moreover, women are sensitive and understanding of the needs of the children more than men. On top of that, women are excellent communicators and will always lend an ear to their childrens concerns.
They are also more sympathetic and less aggressive towards the children than the men. Above all, women have maternal instincts, which always make them look out for their childrens safety. These qualities make most of the children to be more attached to their mothers than their fathers. Therefore, women are better parents than men.
Works Cited
Attili, Grazia, Patrizia Vermigli, and Antonio Roazzi. Childrens Social Competence, Peer Status, and the Quality of Mother-Child and Father-Child Relationships: A Multidimensional Scaling Approach. European Psychologist 15.1 (2010): 23-33. Web.
Costello, Victoria. Daddy and Baby: The Science of New Fatherhood. 2011. Web.
Frodi, Ann, Michael Lamb, Lewis Leavitt, and Donovan Wilberta. Fathers and mothers responses to infant smiles and cries. Infant Behavior and Development 1 (1978): 187-198.
Kuchinskas, Susan. The Chemistry of Connection: How the Oxytocin Response Can Help You Find Trust, Intimacy, and Love. USA: New Harbinger Publications, 2009.
Weiten, Wayne, Dunn, Dana S., and Elizabeth Hammer Yost. Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century. USA: Cengage Learning, 2011. Web.
Effective parenting has never been as important as it is in todays family setups. This notion stems from the fact proper parenting approaches go a long way toward shaping how children will behave in the future. Each aspect of education and upbringing can affect the individuals and society around them. Yet, are parents responsible for their childrens behavior?
Psychological and psychosocial studies have for a long time taught us that parenting without a reasonable basis can definitely result in confusion in the developmental process of any child (Commons and Miller, 2007). This is why many attempts have been made to improve parenting styles. Indeed, effective parenthood is a crucial job in the life of any person who decides to have kids. Many studies undertaken on the factors affecting child demeanors have discovered that parents are responsible for their childrens behavior, be it good or bad.
Although other factors such as peer influence and other experiences while growing up have been shown to affect the childrens behavior, parental involvement has been numerously cited owing to the level of influence parents have over their children as compared to other factors. Hence, parents are the ones who should be blamed for their childrens behavior.
Parents have moral and legal responsibilities towards their child. If they set a bad example to their children, they will definitely follow in their steps. In other words, they are the primary teachers and discipliners of their children. Many parents fail not because they are inadequate or lack love for their children but because they procrastinate and they give warnings that they do not follow through.
Parents should recognize that bringing up well-behaved children requires a thorough comprehension of how their behavior is connected with their childs behavior. Consequently, they should impart moral values such as respect and discipline to the children. All parents have a responsibility when it comes to raising their children, for no one will do it for them.
A study undertaken by the NASUWT teachers union concluded that lack of parental support is a major crisis behind pupils lack of discipline. More than two in three teachers identified lack of support from parents as the most fundamental factor that influences pupils behavior.
The teachers cited a lack of adequate support from the parents to help them maintain high standards in pupils behaviour. Thus they feel let down by the lack of parents support in shaping the pupils behavior. In fact, some parents even fail to send their children to school with the right material for their learning, for example, books and pens. Instead, they allow them to go to school with mobile phones, iPods, and MP3 players.
Mobile phones and other electronic gadgets will always cause disruptions in classrooms, and this makes the pupils not concentrate, leading to lower grades. Lack of concentration in the classroom also prevents the children from taking in valuable lessons that could influence their behavior (Vogler, Masters, and Merrill, 1970). Although some parents cited lack of funds as a source of their waning influence over their childs behavior, studies have shown otherwise.
Low-income families can still influence their childrens behavior by a great margin. Besides, some parents use this excuse as a scapegoat for escaping their parental roles. Some parents pay less attention to their childrens academic activities and hence may not even know whether children are attending classes or not.
The relationship between a parent and his/her child is a determinant of how well the child will adjust to life outside of the home, their performance in school, as well as what kind of relationships they will form with people outside the family setup. Most parents have failed to establish close relations with their children. They do not spend adequate time with their children, are always busy with work commitments, and some are very hostile to their children.
The relationship between parent and child significantly helps in a childs emotional and mental development. As parental affection and influence decrease and the amount of time children spend in non-parental care increases, an increased likelihood of behavioral problems both at home and at school is observed. Parents are critical in every aspect of a childs development (Cavell and Strand, 2002).
They can and should provide healthy, stable environments for their children besides providing a loving and nurturing relationship with them. All of these aspects are likely to promote the behavioral development of a child.
Parents are expected to spend time with their children and are expected to teach their children the behaviors that are embraced or shunned by society. They should be committed to building a strong relationship with their children and must actively contribute to building their childrens self-esteem and self-confidence.
Some parents even lack the confidence to face their own children and hence are not able to counsel their children on good behavior. When parents have a good relationship with their children, they are able to enforce positive values and acceptable standards of good behaviour and ensure that their children embrace these values in their day-to-day lives. Consequently, parents should create time for their children in order to establish a close relationship that can have a long influence on the childs behavior.
Authority, responsibility, discipline, and accountability constitute the foundation of a sensible behavioral structure in all persons. Parents fail to exert these four premises of behaviour in their children, and this has gone a long way into shaping their childrens failure to uphold moral values and etiquette.
A letdown in the display of proper protocols from parent to child could result in children taking up unwanted habits, and if further displays of bad conduct continue to be shown to the child, a potentially criminalized foundation could be laid. Parents do not let their children be accountable for their mistakes as they always cover them, and this makes the children believe that the act was not wrong. Parents should learn to discipline their children whenever they display bad behavior.
Besides, their reaction to their childrens behavior should be that of deterrence and a form of warning. Sometimes parents react passively. They give in to their childrens misbehavior because they do not feel like confronting the problem, and this only worsens the childs behavioral problems. When parents fail to understand the motives behind their childrens bad or wrong behavior, their children tend to end up in dangerous and catastrophic situations, such as becoming juveniles.
They should always evaluate their childs behaviour, discipline them appropriately, and say no to their demands when necessary (Newman & Newman, 2011). A child should learn at an early age that consequences follow undesirable behavior. This will assist the child to grow into a productive member of the society.
Parents should, at times, not be blamed for their childrens behaviour, for they always try their best to instill good morals in them. It is the wish of all parents to bring up children with good morals. Critiques have argued that parents should not be blamed for their childs behavior as behavior is shaped by various environmental aspects. The critics forget that parents are the first people who instill discipline in their children. Hence, whatever foundation they lay on their children will be carried for the rest of their life.
Conclusion
Parents play a very vital role in their childrens development, and the success of the children will mainly depend on the foundations imparted to them by the parents. Most studies show that parents are to blame for childrens behaviour. Hence, parents must take a greater role in shaping their childrens future regarding the embrace of morally acceptable behavior.
They must bear in mind that childrens development at home should take precedence. In addition, they must be committed to building a strong relationship with their children and must actively contribute to building their childrens self-esteem and self-confidence.
Influencing the childs behavior should begin with establishing a close relationship with their children and making proper use of their authority over their children, but not in a coercive manner. If parents are not held responsible for their childrens behavior, who is to be blamed then? It is their duty to make the children grow into disciplined and responsible members of society.
Reference List
Cavell, T.A. and Strand, P.S. (2002). Handbook of dynamics in parent-child relations. CA: Thousand Oaks.
Commons, M.L. and Miller, P.M. (2007). How Early Negative Caregiving: Experiences Relate to Stage of Attachment. Behavioral Development Bulletin, 13: 1417.
Newman, P. H. and Newman, B. M. (2011). Development Through Life: A Psychosocial Approach. NJ: Prentice Hall.
Vogler, R.E., Masters, W.M. and Merrill, G.S. (1970). Shaping cooperative behavior in young children. Journal of Psychology, 74, 181-86.
Puritanism refers to a religious group that believed in personal faith and strictly living within the scriptural standards. The puritans who formed a colony in Massachusetts had migrated from England in 1620. Their beliefs and practices which are cited as being one of the strictest differ from the 21st-century beliefs especially on parenthood among other social and family concepts. Having critically analyzed their day-to-day operations it is quite clear that their way of life does not feature in todays parenting, perhaps the reason as to why we have a morally decayed society. Therefore apart from being part of long-extinct history, lessons on Puritanism should be included in high school textbooks. The puritan parents were capable and skillful parents whose ideas need to be adapted to some extent by modern parents.
Historical Perspective of Puritanism
Though some of their ideals were backward, the puritans had managed to establish a united socially responsible society. McLaren et al (114) the puritan wives were always submissive to their husbands. This was used as the first lesson of obedience to their children. They were to observe how their mothers who were always second in command gave in to their fathers demands. According to McLaren et al (114), puritans had justified why men came first in the family chronology. They argued that the father was named first in the fifth commandment; they went ahead to justify that it was Eve who caused Adam to fall into sin. Further, the woman was created second after Adam.
In the 21st century, women argue with their husbands in the presence of their children thus creating an emotionally imbalanced child. It has been identified through progressive social science researches that these emotionally imbalanced children end up having low self-esteem among other dysfunctional traits. Most of the social misfit children come from broken homes caused by a lack of understanding in the home.
In the puritans, culture children were treated as tertiary in the hierarchy and were in addition sinful. This belief colored the approach to childhood discipline. This was meant to prevent the children from falling into more sinful activities. While the Catholic Church refuted these claims of children being sinful until they attained the age of seven years, the puritans claimed that the sinfulness could be observed when the children were on their mothers breasts. Parents who did not discipline their children were regarded as evil (McLaren et al 114). This disciplining approach brought about a morally responsible society that did not experience the kind of problems being seen in the twenty-first century as a result of childrens indiscipline.
As compared to todays parenting, Puritans did not sentimentalize childhood. Even newborn children were potential sinners full of aggressive and willful impulses that needed to be suppressed (Mintz 10). Furthermore, Puritans treated children like adults who needed salvation and induction into the world of work. They did not believe that childhood was a period of leisure and playfulness, deserving overindulgence (Mintz 10). None the less they recognized the importance of constructive play depending on the childs gender.
This is yet another concept that differs from the present world belief where children can be exposed to a whole days play. This has prospered to produce an inactive generation and increased cases of obesity, due to lack of strenuous activities that help in burning the extra calories. On the contrary Puritan children grew up as responsible children.
The earlier belief of English men was that a womans first milk was unfit to be breastfed to the newborn; as a result, another lactating mother was given the prerogative of breastfeeding the child. However, it was the Puritans who first rejected this practice citing that if the woman was of bad character there was a possibility of passing on this trait to the newborn. Further as clearly indicated by Mintz (16) the puritans believed that newborns nursed by their mothers were less likely to die in infancy. Apparently, this is the same notion today whereby women are advised to breastfeed their children at least for the first two years. This ensures that the children become healthy and capable of fighting off minor infections that are known to cause mortality death.
In addition, the puritans were enlightened people as they realized that early childhood is lifes formative stage. At this age, the children were equally malleable and thus very easy to inculcate positive characters into them. They trained their children on religious matters as early as possible to avoid the sudden dramatic conversion experience in the modern world.
Nonetheless, though the puritans were great in terms of disciplining their children, some of their ideologies were not acceptable and cannot be adopted into todays world. For example: not allowing children to dine with their children as a sign of respect. (Grigg 52).
Conclusion
In conclusion, though the puritans lived in the 16th and 17th centuries. Their ideas of disciplining children might come in handy for 21st-century parents who have been unable to control their children. The hand-off mode of raising children is no longer effective. Cases of immorality, drug abuse, and crime have been exacerbated due to a lack of proper parental guidance to their children.
Works Cited
Grigg, John. British colonial America: People and Perspectives. California. ABC-CLIO, 2008. Web.
McLaren, Dorothy and Fildes, Valerie. Women as mothers in pre industrial England: essays in memory of Dorothy McLaren. London. Routledge, 1990. Web.
Mintz, Steven. Hucks Raft: a history of America childhood. California. Harvard University Press, 2004. Web.
Teacher-parent interactions continue to shift in contemporary educational settings due to the importance that continues to be placed on parental involvement in achieving optimal child outcomes (Wu 307). Educators the world over continue to underscore the fact that positive relationships between parents and teachers predict childrens enhanced social-emotional functioning and academic adjustment across time (Kim et al. 3).
Despite this fundamental importance, the reality on the ground is that these interactions are often feared by parents and educators alike due to a variety of issues that need to be understood in order to increase parent-teacher interactions in school (Stevens and Tollafield 521).
Why Parent-Teacher Interactions Fail
Lack of effective communication
Lack of Trust
Failure by a parent to attend school programs for their children (Stevens and Tollafield 521)
Lack of effective conflict management approaches (Davis 21).
Lack of shared vision and decision-making processes between parents and teachers (Merkley et al. 15)
Lack of knowledge on how to engage parents in their children learning (Davis 22)
Activities to Increase Parent-Teacher Interactions
Parent/Teacher Conferences
There should be regular parent/teacher conferences aimed at discussing the conduct and academic performance of students. Good invitation techniques, pleasant encounters, pertinent information sharing, effective communication, participation and involvement, and partnership for progress are needed to spur positive parent-teacher interactions during conferences (Stevens and Tollafield 522-524).
Volunteer Programs
Parents should be encouraged to participate in classroom and school-based activities and events as volunteers, attendees, or members of school leadership or governing councils (Davis 25). Such participation and involvement enhance parent-teacher interactions
Rapport Building
This can be done by inviting parents assistance, expressing interest in working with them as partners, and checking for understanding (Kim et al. 5)
Learning at Home Initiatives
Teachers should be at the forefront in helping parents to establish home environments that support continuous learning (Davis 2)
School Open Days
Parents should be invited to schools on a frequent basis to discuss the academic progress of their children with teachers
Use of Technology
Teachers should share email accounts and phone numbers with parents to enhance communication (Merkley et al. 11-12)
Benefits of Effective Parent-Teacher Interactions
Students are able to develop their social, emotional, and academic competencies (Stevens and Tollafield 523)
Adult participation sends the message that school is important and the work children do is worthy of adult attention (Davis iii)
Effective parent-teacher interactions ensure that students are able to develop much-needed life skills, such as discipline, collaboration, and emotional stability (Wu 308)
Parents are provided with the opportunity to share in the academic development of the children
The decisions made in school are inclusive, implying that opportunities for conflict are substantially reduced (Graham-Clay 119)
Effective interactions lead to healthy teacher-parent relationships in school, home, and community settings
Strategies to Increase Parent-Teacher Interactions
Developing an open, trusting, and inviting environment for parents and teachers to establish healthy and mutually beneficial relationships (Davis 56)
Putting in place effective conflict management strategies to iron out any differences (Graham-Clay 118)
Developing opportunities to build personal relationships with parents and become co-learners in the education process (Graham-Clay 118)
Ensuring that teachers continue to develop and expand their skills in order to maximize effective communication with parents (Graham-Clay 117)
Works Cited
Davis, Deborah. Supporting Parent, Family, and Community Involvement in your School, Portland, Oregon: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, 2000. Print.
Graham-Clay, Susan. Communicating with Parents: Strategies for Teachers. School Community Journal. 36.2 (2009): 117-130. Academic Search Premier. Web.
Kim, Elizabeth Moorman, Kathleen M. Minke, Susan M. Sheridan, Natalie Koziol, Ji Hoon Ryoo and Kristin M. Rispoli. Congruence within the Parent-Teacher Relationship: Associations with Childrens Functioning. CYFS Working Paper No. 2012.2, 2012. Web.
Merkley, Donna, Denise Schmidt, Carrie Dirksen and Carol Fuhler. Enhancing Parent-Teacher Communication using Technology: A Reading Improvement Clinic Example. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education. 6.1 (2006): 11-42. ERIC. Web.
Stevens, Brenda and Andrew Tollafield. Creative Comfortable and Productive Parent/Teacher Conferences. Phi Delta Kappan. 84.7 (2003): 521-524. MasterFILE Premier. Web.
Wu, Pi-Ju. Teacher-Parent Interactions in Taiwan: A Qualitative Investigation of Teachers Perspectives. Universal Journal of Education. 3.5 (2015): 307-316. ERIC. Web.
The article Psycho-educational program for parents of dysfunctional backgrounds discusses parent education outlining the effective methods of parenting for people with dysfunctional backgrounds. The operation of dysfunctional families has been generalized.
The author has outlined one particular pattern of parenting exhibited by parents who grew up in dysfunctional families. Although this phenomenon presents itself in different ways, there is the possibility of its effects being similar effects on members of a given family.
The author describes a responsive psycho-educational program meeting the needs of participants despite the varying groups. The programs framework involves four areas. These are information giving, increasing self-awareness, developing specific skills and monitored practice.
Adults raised from dysfunctional families may portray dysfunctional behaviors from the past. These behaviors affect them negatively as revealed by their parenting. However, some few individuals, although brought up in dysfunctional families have developed into reasonably functional adults.
The author describes a parent education program where parents are supposed to participate as referred by their therapist. The author has effectively represented the possible operation of a dysfunctional family in general. Initially, parents may articulate inappropriate expectations for children without providing them with the appropriate guidance.
Children would then find themselves in difficult situations because they cannot comprehend their parents expectations. Eventually, this may lead to conflicting relationships among family members. Some children may oppose their parents stand resulting in family divisions.
The author disapproves of such a situation despite the fact that in some cases children are not suppose to side with their parents without questioning the legitimacy of their stance. In my opinion, children should only support their parents in doing what is right.
For example, children should not help their parents in committing crime. There may be inappropriate ways of expressing affection in families. Some parents may think that they love their children, but in the real sense, they are doing the opposite.
I think that the author should have disused more examples for the reader to better understand and appreciation the topic of discussion.
Due to poor communication and secrets in the family, openness and transparency are discouraged. This strains the relationship among family members especially those who may not share what they consider personal.
Poor communication in a family is the main reason for poor parenting since it leads to various assumptions. In addition, children growing up in these settings end up with low self-esteem and lack self-confidence.
This is demonstrated when children from these families associate with the outside world. Although the author has successfully shown how dysfunctional families operate, he has failed to show how such occurrences can be eliminated.
Parents who grew up in dysfunctional families may have challenges in their parenting. These parents may exhibit behaviors such as being quick-tempered, inconsistency, confused expectations, distorted attributions and pendulum swings. In my opinion, I tend to think that these behaviors present themselves in either the functional or dysfunctional family set ups.
The author describes a program to help parents raised from dysfunctional families fulfill their parental roles. The program can be summarized in four stages fused into sessions. The author emphasizes the sessions as opportunities for participants to check their parenting roles if they conform in parenting.
In this article, the author comprehensively covers all types of dysfunctional families both single and groups. However, the content seems to be applicable only to those who have experienced dysfunctional families.
Therefore, the article may not be appealing to some members of the society. This is because of the programs design, which demands a lot of time and resources.
Lastly, throughout the author arguments, an opinion is established that he only focuses on parents from dysfunctional backgrounds. As a critic, I think he should have focused generally on failed parenting.
Nowadays cartoons are an important part of our reality. Several generations have already grown up with the animated movies by Disney and its counterparts, and, given the popularity of this kind of entertainment, the childhood of future generations is also likely to be marked by them.
Children love cartoons and spend significant amounts of time glued to the TV screens, captured by the plots and mesmerized by the characters. In the meantime, their parents cannot help but wonder what kind of lessons these animations teach the young viewers and what kind of impact on the process of their upbringing the cartoons may have. Numerous studies devoted to the issue have produced the results that are more than a little disturbing. Despite the pleasure they provide for young viewers or the educational potential, cartoons can apparently have adverse effects on childrens behavior and development (Peters and Blumberg 144; Hapkiewicz 33)
The problem has been proved, illustrated, acknowledged, and addressed on governmental levels, for example, with the creation of specific bodies that are supposed to monitor the content of cartoons and define whether they are appropriate for a particular age group or not. At the same time, it appears logical for parents to take care of their childrens safety themselves. Indeed, given the importance of cartoons for the young generation, the possible adverse effects, and the ineffectiveness of regulating bodies, it seems, no one but parents is capable of preserving their children from the animation-caused problems.
Background. In the article Cartoon Violence and Aggression in Youth, Steven Kirsh points out that the first cartoon star was the 1920s icon , Felix the Cat, which means that children have been entertained by animated films and television shows for over 80 years (548). It is very obvious that the situation has not changed much; if anything, cartoons have become even more popular, admired by children and, occasionally, even by their parents. Throughout these years, the cartoons have been used to create millions of dollars for Disney Brothers or HannaBarbera, being box office juggernauts (Kirsh 548).
The unbelievable level of profitability of the business is not only the additional testimony to its popularity; it also shows that it is not likely to be given up soon, and cartoons are a part of our reality that would be expected to exist for centuries to come. Given the extreme popularity and vitality of cartoons, the issue of their impact on childrens behavior, psychological state, and upbringing process has attracted the interest of numerous researchers. The results indicate that the number of unfavorable effects of viewing cartoons is too large to neglect (Fouts et al. 16-17).
Claim. This paper claims that parents should be more aware of the type of animations that are being watched by their children and need to become involved in their childrens cartoon experience; the following sections present the reasoning for the claim and the solutions to the problem.
Counterclaim: Cartoon Popularity
According to Kristen Peters and Fran Blumberg, as of 1998, preschoolers would spend up to 30 hours of television per week watching animations (143). Apparently, children find cartoons incredibly entertaining, and this fact makes it difficult for parents to restrict the access to animations for their kids. This effect can be caused both by the resistance of children and the belief of their parents in the relative harmlessness or even advantages of the cartoons. Given the fact that superheroes are typically associated with positive traits, it is possible to suggest that animations are capable of promoting desirable behavior models and moral views, which accounts for the popularity of cartoons among parents.
In other words, cartoons are expected to be educational or to contribute to the process of childrens upbringing by promoting positive values. Still, there exists a bulk of studies, according to which the negative impact of animations effectively diminishes their potential value as an educating or upbringing tool. As for the pleasure that children find in animations, it certainly provides them with positive emotions, but it is not worth the possible drawbacks in their development. The following section is devoted to some of the negative consequences of cartoon watching.
Reason # 1: Cartoon Violence
One of the primary reasons for the caution, with which parents should approach the animations that their children favor, is the violence and aggression contained in these cartoons. According to Kristen Peters and Fran Blumberg, as of 1993 up to 92% of Saturday morning programs contained violence with about 71% of the rate for prime-time programs doing the same (144). Kirsh agrees to this fact, but also points out that the aggression acts in cartoons can most often be characterized as minor ones (549).
Despite this, cartoon shows have been characterized as containing some of the highest levels of violent and aggressive content on television (Peters and Blumberg 143). Therefore, the existence of cartoon violence is a well-known and properly documented fact, the proofs to which, no doubt, have been noted by most people in their everyday life. Moreover, violence appears to be almost characteristic of cartoons, which makes it is necessary to monitor the pictures that children choose.
It is not difficult to deduce that the acts of violence, minor or not, can affect the behavior and development of children in a negative way; nowadays, there exists scientific evidence to this fact. Numerous studies prove the fact that aggressiveness in young children, including preschoolers, tends to increase after watching cartoons that contain violence. Similarly, scientific research demonstrates that the children who watch violent animations tend to show a higher level of physical and verbal aggression as well as physiological arousal, a decrease in the level of moral reasoning, disobedience and reduced delay tolerance, victimization, and self-esteem decrease; apart from that, the quality of their sleep decreases (Hapkiewicz 30; Krcmar and Hight 255; Kirsh 553; Fouts et al. 20).
In other words, cartoon violence accounts for all the specter of negative effects that would be expected from it. What is more, the results that are presented above prove that, even though children develop differently and would be expected to be affected by onscreen violence to different extents, most of them tend to exhibit negative consequences. It is apparent, therefore, that the issue of cartoon violence is generic for children of different ages all over the world.
As shown by David Hubka, Lil Tonmyr, and Wendy Hovdestad, the issue of child mistreatment (physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, the latter being especially common) is found in Disney movies rather frequently (437). This problem, no doubt, accounts for the nervosity and victimization and well as lowering self-esteem. Apart from that, it is worth pointing out that one of the reasons for adverse effects of the cartoon violence could lie in the fact that superheroes, an attractive model from the cartoons, demonstrate aggressive behavior quite often (Peters and Blumberg 145; Baker and Raney 27).
Therefore, the images that are expected to promote positive values instead promote violence and aggression, which completely opposes the expectations of parents. The disobedience, as well as aggressiveness and deficient moral motivation, could result from this problem. What is more, even one exposure to real or fiction violence is enough to create a mental model of violence which makes the problem more urgent (Krcmar and Hight 253).
It can be pointed out that it is useless to guard children against the harsh realities of the world forever. Indeed, it may be necessary for a child to receive experiences about the ways of the word, but cartoons may be not appropriate for this role, in part, since they tend to warp childrens perception of reality.
Reason #2: Distinguishing Fantasy and Reality
The role that animations play for children and their importance for the worldview of the young viewers conditions the fact that cartoons tend to influence the childrens perception of reality. In other words, animations can decrease the level of distinction between fantasy and reality, and this is another adverse effect of cartoon watching.
According to Nathalie Carrick and Madisenne Ramirez, unlike adults, children may understand the boundaries of fantasy but have some limits in their understanding of reality (478). The reason for this lies in the fact that children are exposed to experiences that typically differ from those of adults (Carrick and Ramirez 473). Indeed, it appears that parents tend to protect children from the themes and circumstances that could harm them. This process can have certain negative side effects as well: for example, children may (and tend to) have difficulties in distinguishing good and bad influences until a certain age. Still, restricting childrens access to damaging experiences is a natural thing to do, which is, in part, reflected by the parents attempts to control the quality of cartoons viewed in their family.
Indeed, it is obvious that cartoons are among the experiences that can shape the childrens understanding of reality, and this kind of animations influence has also been researched. This effect was characterized as an adverse one by of Baker and Raney as well as Peters and Blumberg, who note that animations can be harmful because young children have difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy (144). This ability to warp the reality in a childs eyes becomes more dangerous in the light of the cartoon violence and explains some of its consequences. For example, in case a child begins to believe that violence in the real world happens as often as in his or her favorite cartoons, nightmares and increased nervosity are to be expected.
Apart from that, given the prevalence of cartoon experience, the question of how children are going to react to real-life situations that are not demonstrated in their animations can become disturbing. Indeed, the lack of necessary real-life experience combined with rather weird ideas that are found in cartoons can result in confusion or strange behaviors. The latter could be connected to the strange moral reasoning mentioned in the previous part: in case a child misinterprets reality, there is nothing surprising in him or her misinterpreting the moral guidelines of the society.
At the same time, Kirsh suggests that children with different background and of different age may perceive cartoon violence differently and that the perceived actuality is thought to be an important factor in determining the influence of media violence (550). This claim could be regarded as another attempt at justifying cartoons and diminishing their danger. Still, the differences in perception are not likely to eliminate the danger of cartoon experiences: there are too many variables to be certain that a child is protected from the adverse effects; apart from that, some of these variables (like the specifics of psychological development) are too difficult to assess, which proves the importance of caution in respect to reality-warping cartoons.
Certainly, the differences and variables may be used to indicate the children who are particularly vulnerable to cartoon reality-warping influence, which means that the information concerning them should be made public. Still, the effectiveness of this tool will be sapped by the number and vagueness of the variables, which is why this variant is not regarded as the solution in this paper.
Reason #3: Gender Roles and Stereotypes
From the previous section it follows that the importance of cartoons for modern children also suggests that the worldview of young viewers could be affected if not shaped by animations. As a result, researchers and, especially, parents are concerned with the messages that cartoons provide for the children. This is the basis for the educational expectations that parents have in respect to cartoons. It is not unlikely that cartoons can indeed be used as an educational tool, but apart from that, they are capable of promoting disturbing themes and, in reality, the latter case appears to be too common to ignore.
For example, cartoons are known for demonstrating gender stereotypes. Pointing out that children are still struggling to discern fantasy from reality, Coyne et al. proceed to prove that boys who spend much time on superhero programs are more gender stereotyped (417). Kaylee Baker and Arthur Raney proved that the gender stereotypes reflected in cartoons resulted in 78% of children ages four to nine recognized males as having more total roles and more speaking roles in cartoons than females (27). The figure is more than impressive and should be enough to convince the advocates of the idea of the relative harmlessness of cartoons. The adverse influence of gender stereotypes promoted by cartoons can, therefore, be considered a fact. It could be regarded as another experience that, just like cartoon violence, tends to warp the childrens perception.
What is more, other stereotypes can also find their way into childrens cartoons. For example, Hubka, Tonmyr, and Hovdestad demonstrate the negative character of the images of social workers in Disney pictures (11). Having encountered the negative stereotype, children grow wary of social workers, which makes the mission of the latter more difficult to accomplish. In the end, it is children who suffer from the short-sighted policy of the cartoons manufacturers. Another stereotype, the aggressiveness of superheroes models, was mentioned by Kristen Peters and Fran Blumberg (145). This stereotype promotes violent behavior as a trait of the good characters and, therefore, creates an image of the aggressiveness as a positive or, rather, cool habit. Given the popularity of cartoons and their ability to warp childrens perception, the existence of stereotypical imagery in animations is a problem that needs to be taken into account.
Reason #4: Motion Picture Association of America and Bias
Having admitted the existence of the problem of cartoon influence on young viewers, as well as having deduced the elements that are most harmful, modern society attempts to control the issue. The existence of bodies like MPAA is an example of such attempts. Most often the bodies check the content of new animations in search for the violence or improper images promotion, and such an initiative is, clearly, a logical and potentially extremely useful decision. The problem, however, is in the effectiveness of the said bodies, which, apparently, is often deficient.
For example, according to Ron Leone, the MPAA is unfair in rating movies, as the MPAA allows children easier access to violent content, which is more harmful to them than sexual content (69). In fact, Leone demonstrates that a young childs exposure to graphically violent, potentially harmful, content in a PG-13-rated film can occur without interference by the MPAA in the form of a restrictive rating (74). Obviously, not every parent would agree to such a policy that makes one wonder why the government does not increase the control over the body.
However, it should be pointed out that the governmental control can be somewhat ineffective due to its inherent specific features. Indeed, the bodies need to take into account a general case, and, therefore, they cannot predict the reaction of a particular child or, rather, they are not meant to do so. In effect, the bodies cannot even completely prohibit the viewing of a particular cartoon. Instead, by providing their generalized guidelines, the controlling bodies offer their suggestions to the viewers and inform them about the content of the movies they are about to watch. Every child, though, is unique, and, therefore, it is apparent that the generalized suggestions are of little use for the particular case. Only the parents are capable of efficiently protecting their kids from the adverse influence of animations.
Possible Solutions
The overlapping problems of cartoon violence, reality perception warp, and gender stereotypes promotion are the result of the role that cartoons play in the life of modern children, primarily, their popularity. This factor makes the process of resolving the problem more difficult. In this paper, the increased participation of parents in the childrens cartoon experiences is regarded as a solution that has been already suggested by numerous researchers. For example, Hubka, Tonmyr, and Hovdestad encourage parents to pay attention to the cartoons that their children watch, and this suggestion could be regarded as the first step to resolving the problem. In effect, it can provide the parents with the necessary information about their childrens preferences, desires, and needs. In this situation, parents take up the role of an investigator, and, given their personal involvement in the process, they are bound to perform well. After the information is gathered, the second step to the solution is to be taken. This step can be defined as mediation.
One variant of mediation, the restrictive one, according to Coyne et al., entails the setting of rules for childrens television exposure, such as limiting how much television children can watch or not allowing them to watch certain programming (427). In this case, parents play the role of a regulation body, but it is obvious that children are not going to be overly fond of this method. It does not necessarily mean the deterioration of the relationship between parents and their children, but the negative emotions that the latter are bound to experience, make this kind of solution a rather unpleasant choice. Still, restricting the access to a damaging influence is a common and necessary practice.
At the same time, in the case of cartoons, another mediation variant exists, that is, the active mediation option. According to Professor Kirsh, active mediation presupposes talking to youth about the content of violent media while demonstrating an aversion to aggressiveness portrayed on the screen, discouraging the idea that violence goes unpunished and pointing out the feelings of a victim (554-555). This way of mediation is preferable: first of all, it does not require prohibiting the cartoons, which makes it psychologically easier for both parties. Apart from that, active mediation can become another educational tool, which is a natural consequence of the discussions involved in the process, or another chance of improving and guiding the development of a child. Finally, active mediation provides parents and children with another activity they can take up together; as a result, the relationship between them can be improved. Mediation can become the primary solution to the difficulties connected with the violence and stereotypes promoted by cartoons; apart from that, it could help parents to teach children to discern reality from fantasy.
The problem of MPAA and similar agencies can be solved on the governmental level with the help of increased monitoring of their activities, but the extent of this solution has already been defined as very limited. Therefore, the mediation method is applicable in this case as well. Indeed, Leone hopes to make parents aware of the flaws of MPAA system and encourages them to decide on the appropriateness of a film for their children, believing it would alleviate the adverse results of the MPAA biases (73). This suggestion appears to be most logical and can be easily incorporated into the intervention system described above. It can be concluded that parents are capable of alleviating all the adverse effects of animations, which is an inspiring suggestion.
Conclusion
Being extremely popular among young viewers, cartoons are bound to have an impact on the growing generations. While the recreational value of this kind of entertainment appears to be immense, the adverse effects that it may have on children are also astonishingly severe. The attempts at regulating the industry do not appear to be sufficiently effective. Still, controlling the industry is not the only solution to the problem; in fact, it does not even seem to be the most reasonable one. Institutions like MPAA can only take into account the average data, and there is no way for them to customize the recommendations. At the same time, children develop differently and possess unique personalities, which makes the unified approach of the mentioned bodies dangerously inefficient. Indeed, it appears that only relatives or guardians can know enough about a childs development, sensitivity and needs to realize how to protect him or her from the harmful effects of cartoons.
Consequently, parents should pay more attention to their childrens cartoon experience and, if possible, get involved in it. The primary way to do it presupposes paying attention to the cartoons that a child watches and taking into account its potential impact. After that, of course, restrictive mediation is possible and, apparently, even necessary in certain cases, even though children are not likely to give up their entertainment willingly and may perceive it as a loss. Active mediation, on the other hand, is a solution with a particularly high potential.
By discussing cartoons with children, parents get the chance to understand their perception of the animations, make conclusions about the possible adverse effects, and alleviate the latter. Apart from that, active mediation allows parents to develop a critical approach to the information and its sources as well as assist a child in the process of understanding and formulating his or her own taste, interests, and views. Therefore, active mediation is a solution to the problem that does not demand restricting childrens access to their entertainment, allowing them to avoid the feeling of loss, and that exploits the controversy of the situation to gain significant benefits.
Works Cited
Baker, Kaysee, and Arthur A. Raney. Equally Super?: Gender-Role Stereotyping of Superheroes in Childrens Animated Programs. Mass Communication and Society 10:1 (2007): 25-41. Academic Search Complete.
Carrick, Nathalie, and Madisenne Ramirez. Preschoolers Fantasyreality Distinctions of Emotional Events. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 112:4 (2012): 467-483. Academic Search Complete.
Coyne, Sarah M., Jennifer Ruh Linder, Eric E. Rasmussen, David A. Nelson, and Kevin M. Collier. Its a Bird! Its a Plane! Its a Gender Stereotype!: Longitudinal Associations Between Superhero Viewing and Gender Stereotyped Play. Sex Roles 70.9:10 (2014): 416-30. Academic Search Complete.
Fouts, Gregory, Mitchell Callan, Kelly Piasentin, and Andrea Lawson. Demonizing in Childrens Television Cartoons and Disney Animated Films. Child Psychiatry and Human Development 37:1 (2006): 15-23. Academic Search Complete.
Hapkiewicz, Walter G. Childrens Reactions to Cartoon Violence. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology 8:1 (1979): 30-34. Academic Search Complete.
Hubka, David, Lil Tonmyr, and Wendy Hovdestad. Social Work and Child Maltreatment Intervention in Disney Animated Feature Films: 19372006. Australian Social Work 62:1 (2009): 99-112. Academic Search Complete.
Kirsh, Steven J. Cartoon Violence and Aggression in Youth. Aggression and Violent Behavior 11:6 (2006): 547-57. Academic Search Complete.
Krcmar, Marina, and Anna Hight. The Development of Aggressive Mental Models in Young Children. Media Psychology 10:2 (2007): 250-69. Academic Search Complete.
Leone, Ron. Rated Sex: An Analysis of the MPAAs Use of the R and NC17 Ratings. Communication Research Reports 21:1 (2004): 68-74. Academic search complete.
Peters, Kristen M., and Fran C. Blumberg. Cartoon Violence: Is It as Detrimental to Preschoolers as We Think? Early Childhood Education Journal 29:3 (2002): 143-48. Academic Search Complete.
I believe that the whole concept of the Parents as Teachers (PAT) program is really useful and applicable. Every person can have some troubles because of lack of knowledge; the same concerns the problem of being conscientious parents. I liked the website and think that the information is great: All people are encouraged to take part in the PAT program because it enables inexperienced parents to gain experience and learn what can be more appropriate for their children and apply some practices that have already appeared to be useful in their cases.
The thing I liked most about the PAT website is that parents of children that have some problems with their health or learning share their experience and encourage others to take part in this program. I can conclude that parents that take active part in the PAT program are sure to be good parents and will never be at a loss if their child faces some problems; though the program does not provide people with universal solutions, they try to find individual approach in every case.
The Educator Working in the Parents as Teachers Program
I interviewed a teacher from the Jefferson County Schools district in Tennessee who worked in the PAT program for two years and now gave up this activity. She told me about the experience of doing home visits as a part of home-based literacy program. She had pleasant and exciting experience as well as negative one. The children she worked with were about three to five years old. The successful experience included a visit to a family where all parents were going to join the PAT program.
So, they were waiting for her and wanted to learn more about the peculiarities of the program. That visit enabled her to conduct a lesson in a friendly environment and show those parents the benefits of being a PAT program member and possible ways to help others. In this respect, she visited them during two next years as this visit at the very beginning of her PAT membership. Though both parents became members of PAT as well, she was doing biweekly home visits and they could do that together.
The negative experience (actually, there was more than one such experience) included parents that met her willingly and went away as if they were not interested in the progress of their children. Those parents did nothing to help their children develop their skills besides home-based literacy program. She had no more than 200 visits per year. The activity she found really exciting for children was the one where they could complete stories after she had introduced a beginning of the story. Children are great inventors and I think that this tasked helped to break the ice and find out the skills of a child.
Parent volunteering guide in the early childhood center
Limit the group to no more than six students because you should respond to every students request in terms of some help to be provided or some questions asked. Sit at table with students so that you could see what they do and control the process and provide them with a feedback immediately after noticing some errors or difficulties experienced by student.
You will have to prepare a few patterns with pictures that should be coloured with the help of pencils. The complexity of pictures should depend on the age of children. Thus, smaller children should be assigned an easier picture to colour while older children can cope with more complicated pictures.
Though the task is really simple, you can ask children to use only warm colours (this means that you should tell children what colours are considered warm and what are cold). Moreover, you should limit the number of colours so that children could definitely choose the warm or the cold ones. The essence of this practice is to make children aware of the colour palette and some of its peculiarities in the process of drawing and make sure all children learn to perform the task accurately and neatly.
Benefits of volunteering to parents
I believe that parents gain more than satisfaction because coming to the classroom enables them to see how their children progress and learn about some difficulties that a child may face. If a child have some problems with in-class performance and tells nothing about those difficulties to his/her parents at home, parents may be unaware of those problems. In this respect, coming to the classroom is a great opportunity to see what is going on in the class, see how other children demonstrate their skills and analyse a childs progress. A parent can help even if a child does not have any problems because children treat their parents visits as really encouraging ones and a child wants to work to full capacity so that his/her parents saw with their own eyes how successful he/she is.
Children can receive some help when their parents come to the classroom because they will be provided with some explanations made by the teacher and extra explanations provided by parents. I am sure that a child who knows that his/her parents can assist in any activity will over perform. Thus, children can become more confident and active regarding the in-class activities and tasks that have been challenging before.
Engaging parents into volunteering
I really like the idea that notes can be sent to parents in the childrens Friday folders asking for volunteers. Besides, you can inform parents about the necessity of volunteering in advance. This may be performed during parents-teachers conferences. You can prepare some plan of activities that require parents participation, for example, every month and inform parents about the necessity of volunteering at the beginning of every month so that they could shift their schedule and get ready to assist in the classroom.
Moreover, informing parents in advance can help you gain more active participation of parents in family volunteering in the classroom. If you have more than one occasion that requires family volunteering in the classroom, you can ask parents to divide themselves in groups of equal number of members or in groups that would have a number of members corresponding to the activity. For instance, some activities can involve more family volunteers in the class. In this respect, some parents that are busy at the end of the month can participate in those family volunteering activities that are held at the beginning of the month.
Benefits of parent volunteering to early education centers
I believe that volunteering as tutors is a great activity to have parents and other family members involved in what takes place in the classroom. This volunteering enables parents to introduce their own approach to classroom activities and their vision of the teaching-learning process.
Besides, parents as volunteers can participate in activities that are limited to a smaller number of students than there are in class. So, all students can be involved into an activity simultaneously and a teacher can introduce more activities at a time than while engaging no volunteers. A parent can assist his/her child and other children by means of giving examples, guiding, and providing them with a feedback at each step they take.
Field trips and holiday parties can be considered an integral part of the early childhood education program including various simulations of daily life situations and step necessary to succeed I those situations. In other words, children should be accompanied by volunteering parents during field trips because even if you explain the rules to follow to children, you may fail to look after every child. It is natural that the whole group of children is engaged into the field trip and more than one adult should be engaged into watching after children so that they were in safety.
Amy Chua, in the article titled Why Chinese Mothers are Superior: can a Regimen of no Playdates, no TV, no Computer Games and Hours of Music Practice Create Happy Kids? And what happens when they fight back? has presented two types of parental involvement in the academics of their children.
Western-style, entailing less involvement and characterized by poor school performance, and Chinese style, involving a lot of involvement and associated with best academic performance. This paper will explicate the idea that the approaches, used by Chinese mothers to foster the performance of their children in academics, are effective.
Too much permissiveness negatively affects the academics of young people. As the author indicates, allowing school-going children to attend a sleepover, have a play-date, and watch TV or play computer games can take up most of the study time hence poor performance in schools (Chua par. 19-20).
I agree with the author that without being hard on kids, they are likely to sacrifice academics for leisure activities. In different researches of Asian Americans, European Americans and Hispanic parents it was found that Asian Parents usually have higher expectations for their children and are not satisfied with Bs and Cs (Tewari and Alvarez 326). Even though success in everything, including academic, depends on the ability of the child, parental influence is vital in determining their success.
Due to high expectations, Chinese parents usually push their kids a lot. As the author states, Chinese parents usually demand higher grades from their children (Chua par. 17-18). It is true that Chinese parents demand a lot from their school, going kids. As reported by Mansell, Chinese children indiciate that they are usually under high pressure to deliver academically (par. 23-25).
She also indicated that parents usually prevail upon to explain why a child got Bs and not clean As (Mansell par. 18) In short, the efforts made by Chinese parents help in shaping their kids academically. However, too much of these things can instill fear leading to underperformance, so, they should only be used to some controllable extent.
Family commitment to education among Chinese is exceptionally strong. As the author states, its true that Chinese mothers personally tutor, train, interrogate and spy on their kids (Chua par. 18). Within Chinese society, a lot of emphases is put on practice. In fact, children are usually told that for them to achieve anything in life and for that matter in education, they must practice all the time (Mansell par. 13-15). As such, children are motivated when they achieve their best through practice.
Childrens early upbringing significantly impacts their academic performance. As the author states, Lulu was about 7, still playing two instruments, and working on a piano piece (Chua par. 20-21). I concur with the author that the future of someone is shaped when they are young because they get accustomed to the system and also find it part of their life.
Supporting this, Topor et al. indicated that parent-child interaction, particularly responsive and stimulating parenting practices, are key influences on the academic development of those children (183). This seems to confirm the argument of the author that the academic performance of Chinese kids is stimulated early in life.
Although the academic performance of people is determined by a number of factors, including genetics and environment, parental influence plays a vital role. However, it is wrong for parents to reproach their children harshly as it is likely to instill fear, which may undermine their self-esteem.
Works Cited
Chua, Amy. Why Chinese Mothers are Superior: can a Regimen of no Playdates, no TV, no Computer Games and Hours of Music Practice Create Happy Kids? and what Happens when they Fight Back? Wall Street Journal, 2011. ProQuest. Web.
Tewari, Nita and Alvin Alvarez. Asian American Psychology: Current Perspectives. New York, NY: Psychology Press, 2012. Print.
Topor, David R., Susan P. Keane, Terri L. Shelton, and Susan D. Calkins Parent Involvement and Student Academic Performance: A multiple Mediational Analysis. J Prev Interv Community 38.3 (2010): 183197. Print.