Category: Parenting

Scenario

Your child comes home from school with an assignment sheet for a school project. They are very excited about the project and begin work immediately, doing research on the Internet and gathering materials. You read over the assignment sheet and notice that your child is not including all of the required items in the project, and you have some ideas for how to improve the quality of the presentation. You recently read an article in a parenting magazine about the importance of a child developing responsibility for their own learning. You recall the many ways in which your parents took over your school projects. You, on the other hand, want to encourage your childs confidence in their ability to complete a project independently. The next day, you are at the grocery store when you see a parent of a student in your childs class. That parent has spent over $30 in supplies for the science project and is taking a day off work to put the pieces of the project together.

Problem-Solving

The present scenario refers to the situation that often happens among children and their parents. It is ambiguous for both participants, and it is hard to solve it without hurting anyones feelings. On the one hand, there is a child who is eager to complete his school assignment on his own without his parents help. On the other hand, there is a parent who sees clear ways of improving the childs assignment but is afraid of intervening because he does not want his child to feel incompetent.

The situation described above is quite common for many families. The problem here lies in the fact that parents often either do not help their children to raise responsibility in them or help so much that later children cannot do anything on their own. The situation mentioned in the scenario complicates with the fact that the parent sees another parent who will be likely to do the whole task for his child and cannot decide what he himself should do. Thus, if all the circumstances are combined, the challenge the parent should overcome concerns the way to help his child improve the result of the assignment without making him feel irresponsible and dependent on others.

The best way to solve any problem is to analyze it and guess to what consequences any of the decisions may lead. The analysis of the problem is aimed at figuring out why the problem may be considered a problem (The problem-solving process, n.d.). in this particular case, the main difficulty lies in the parents uncertainty about his actions. On the one hand, he wants to help his child perform the assignment brilliantly and without any mistakes. However, on the other hand, the parent understands that he should not intervene if he wants to develop the feeling of responsibility in his child, and that is why he must perform the task himself. The situation becomes more complicated when the parent understands that other parents will help their children or even do the assignment instead of them. He understands that their work will be better than the one of his child, and he may be disappointed and will not have the desire to do such assignments in the future.

In addition, the parent may be afraid of the fact that the teacher and other parents will speak poorly about his methods of bringing up a child without helping him perform difficult assignments. Hence, any of his decisions and actions will disappoint his child either by showing him that he cannot complete the task without the parents help or by demonstrating that his classmates did it better. That is what makes the problem almost unsolvable for the parent since he wishes best for his child and, by no means, does not want to hurt his feelings.

However, even unsolvable cases may be solved after deep analysis and deep consideration. There always exist decisions, but they may be non-obvious or unpleasant for one or both parties. This particular situation does not presume a wide range of decisions. Moreover, there exists only one that may not hurt the childs feelings and give the parent an opportunity to offer his help. The parent should speak to his child about the project ask about the details of the assignment and the way he is going to perform it. After that, the parent may ask if the child needs help with anything or suggest the options he considers beneficial for the project.

The most important detail of the decision described above concerns the manner of speaking the parents should observe. They must not speak condescendingly as if he considers his child and his ideas unintelligent. He also should not try to change his childrens ideas on performing the project or do everything on his own. He must cooperate with the child and or let him do everything himself while he will only guide him if he needs help. The development of childrens responsibility through their own learning is a good thing, but the child should not feel lonely as if he has no one to ask for help. Apart from that, the responsibility does not presume the absence of any help. It is rather about the awareness and acceptance of the consequences of ones actions.

In this particular case, the children may feel responsible after completing the task and getting a mark for it that may be significantly lower than the ones his classmates got. Thus, they will feel that a lower mark is only his responsibility since they did not ask their parents to help them as their classmates did. However, this decision will make the children feel insecure and inexperienced, and, as a result, they will lose interest in the subject or will have a fear of making mistakes. That is why teaching responsibility through childrens learning on their own may be bad.

If the parent, on the contrary, will do the assignment for the child, they will get a high grade for it but will not feel involved in the great result. The children will think that they do not deserve an excellent mark as they did not do anything, and it was his parent who completed the assignment. Thus, they will always ask for parental help and will not be able to live without it since they cannot do anything on their own.

After the analysis of all possible scenarios, it seems that offering help but, at the same time, letting the child do everything on his own is the best option for solving the problem. The parents, in that case, should be the teacher and adviser, whom the children ask for help if they need it. If the children do not want the parents help or do not admit that they need it, the parents may say that their assistance does not mean that the children cannot do anything himself. They may draw a parallel with the teachers help and say that their actions are equal and a little piece of advice will not diminish the childs contribution to completing the assignment. Thus, the children will not feel insecure during the presentation of the assignment and think that it is them but not their parents who did the major part of the work.

To conclude, it is necessary to state that teaching the child responsibility by letting him complete his school assignments in his own way does not presume the absence of a parents help. The children should see that they are not alone and they have a person who will always assist them if they cannot do anything. The parents, however, should not try to do everything for their children, so they will make they own mistakes and learn to take up responsibility for them.

Reference

The problem solving process. (n.d.). Web.

Summary

Parent engagement in schools is designed to encourage parents and educators to work together in order to support and improve students learning, health, and general development. Although there may be considerable barriers to families involvement in school activities and the educational process, educators undertake all efforts to improve parent engagement. When parents and the community from where the students come from are engaged in supporting their education, childrens performance, education goal achievement, and general development are positively affected. In this paper, parent engagement and actions that should be taken for its improvement are discussed on the basis of Vick Elementary School meetings and parental involvement agenda.

General Background

Parent engagement may be regarded as the involvement of students parents in the learning process and school activities on the basis of cooperation with school staff. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2018), Parent engagement in schools is a shared responsibility in which schools and other community agencies and organizations are committed to reaching out to engage parents in meaningful ways, and parents are committed to actively supporting their childrens and adolescents learning and development (para. 1). At the same time, parent engagement may be viewed from a broader perspective as family engagement, which presupposes the involvement of other family members, including grandparents and adult siblings, along with guardians and foster parents if biological ones are absent.

As a two-way process that starts from early childhood education and persists through high school, successful parent engagement is based on cultural competence and responsiveness, mutual respect, and rational trust between all participants. According to The Global Family Research Project, systemic family engagement and educator professional development are core elements of educational goal achievements (Woolf, n.d.). In turn, focusing on parent engagement, educators and school leaders should create sustainable and ongoing relationships, consider family well-being, and support parents involvement in school activities and educational processes for childrens school readiness, academic progress, and general well-being.

Types of Family or Parent Engagement

As parent engagement has multiple advantages, including students regular attendance, higher grades, improved social skills, and motivation, schools should consider the involvement of parents and family members in the education process within the framework of their teaching strategies. At the same time, the encouragement of parents participation in education may be challenging  that is why six major categories of family engagement were developed by Joyce Epstein, an education expert and a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Education, to facilitate and guide schools efforts (Walden University, n.d.). They include the following:

• Parenting (provision of a healthy environment at home, involvement and engagement, interest in childrens education and special needs)  it may be established and improved through support programs and parenting workshops;
• Communicating  it may be established on the basis of various communication tools, including newsletters, communication folders, social media, apps, and tools, including updates, pictures, notes, reminders, Class Tag, Remind, Talking Points, Seesaw, and School Messenger, between educators and parents;
• Volunteering  parents may be attracted to the management of school activities on a voluntary basis;
• Learning at Home  schools may provide information for parents related to students homework assignments and sources for assistance and support in the learning process.
• Decision-Making  parents may be encouraged to join schools parent-teacher associations and school or district organizations for support and local advocacy related to education.
• Collaborating with the Community  the involvement of families in education-related community work may be organized through the provision of information about activities in public places, parent events, and seminars with the invitation of community leaders.

Common Barriers to Family Engagement

Regardless of the multiple benefits of parent engagement, there are multiple barriers to its implementation. First of all, due to poor communication between teachers and parents, there may be a lack of awareness concerning existing opportunities for involvement. In addition, schools may have an insufficient organization of activities within the framework of their teaching strategies that could strengthen cooperation between families and school staff. Finally, parents personal issues, including time limitations, hard work and work conflicts, and the existence of children with special needs, may impact the efficiency of parent engagement as well.

Strategies for the Improvement of Family Engagement

First of all, schools should consider the creation of a friendly, positive, welcoming, and non-judgmental environment for all families on the basis of mutual trust and respect. For this, school leaders should utilize all forms of communication to assess parents concerns, wishes, and needs, articulate the purpose and goals of parent engagement, and be supportive by offering help, solutions, ideas, and empathy. They should remember to view parents as partners, interact positively, share experiences, ask for advice, and generate feelings of confidence in students and their families.

Family Engagement Essentials for Success

As previously mentioned, family engagement is essential for students performance, academic progress, and general development. That is why schools should ensure that family engagement is strategically planned for by school leaders and supported by employees involved in the educational process. All families should feel welcomed. However, their opportunities for engagement determined by inner resources and limitations should be considered as well. In addition, the unique characteristics of every family, including educational level, culture, language, socio-economic level, and personal circumstances, should be recognized and respected. All in all, parents should be provided with all necessary information and all available variants of engagement in school activities, while their willingness should be comprehensively supported and encouraged.

Parent Engagement at Vick Elementary School

On the basis of the meeting minutes analysis, it is possible to say that Vick Elementary School pays particular attention to parent engagement, and school leaders and all employees involved in the education process participate in the improvement of strategies for it. Concerning the types of parent engagement, the school focuses on parenting, communicating, volunteering, and collaborating with the community. In particular, school leaders organize parent-related events, including the annual parent appreciation day and parent appreciation night, school events related to holidays, such as Spring Carnival and Field Day, and regular parent meetings. In addition, out-of-school activities, including trips to Pine Knolls Shores, Battleship, Greensboro Science Center, Morehead Planetarium, and Durham Life Science and Museum, are discussed. Moreover, during their meetings, school leaders emphasize the significance of proper organization with the distribution of roles and responsibilities, communication with parents, and the dissemination of information through flyers, posters, and emails.

In addition, school authorities value cooperation and decision-making on the basis of sharing ideas and opinions  that is why the development of strategies for parent engagement is organized in the format of teachers meetings. All suggestions are recorded, concerns are discussed, questions are asked, and answers are provided. In general, it is obvious that the school focuses on parent engagement in the classroom and out-of-class activities, keeping a balance between events for entertainment and the educational processes. In other words, parents are involved in their childrens study through meetings and work with teachers, while their participation in the organization of out-of-classroom events is encouraged as well. All in all, Vick Elementary School aims to create a welcoming and positive environment for all families, and these strategies are aligned with the facilitys mission to provide every child, regardless of his capacities and needs, with an opportunity to grow and develop. In this case, parents are viewed as partners, and at the same time, their efforts to collaborate are highly appreciated.

Professional Development Activities for Parent Engagement

In order to contribute to the schools efforts dedicated to the improvement of parent engagement, I attended online training, online and school workshops, and webinars dedicated to family engagement for professional development. As a special education teacher, I clearly understand the importance of parent engagement in the educational process. When an educator and parents cooperate on the basis of mutual trust and respect, students with special needs achieve IEP goals faster and more efficiently. Thus, these professional development activities allow me to develop my leadership skills, which are essential for the organization of family engagement and understand how barriers may be overcome. Due to them, I became more confident as a teacher who knows how to encourage parents, communicate with them efficiently, and help them participate in their childrens education for successful academic outcomes. Thus, I believe that I will be more involved in cooperative work with the parents of my students in the future and contribute to the general improvement of parent engagement at my school as well.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Parent engagement in schools. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web.

Walden University. (n.d.). Every school should consider six types of family involvement. Walden University. Web.

Woolf, N. (n.d.). Family engagement in schools: A comprehensive guide. Panorama Education. Web.

Step one is to communicate with parents frequently. It is important to keep the parents of children who are consistently experiencing difficulties informed. If parents are unaware of how their child is performing at school, a proposition of involving the child in special education may be shocking to them, and a conflict between the parents and the teacher may occur.

Even if a conflict is avoided, it may lead to less developed assistance plans like in Amelias case, when ineffective communication led to her parents signing the consent forms without being properly informed. In an effective case, the parents were constantly consulted and involved in the intervention program for their child (Salvia, Ysseldyke, & Witmer, 2012).

Step two is to communicate both the childs strengths and the childs weaknesses. One of the more common mistakes for educators of children with special needs is to only communicate the difficulties that the child is experiencing at school. Parents need to be aware of the successes of their children to have a comprehensive idea of their condition. In the ineffective communication case, Amelias parents were not informed about her achievements at school, and because of that, they made the decision to switch her to special education without trying to assist her, while in the effective case, they were aware of the issue and attempted to help (Salvia et al., 2012).

Step three is to translate assessment information and team communications as needed. While assessment information is often available to the parents, it may be hard to understand if a lot of jargon is used or if the parents primary language is not English. In the ineffective case of Amelia, her parents spoke English but were not familiar with the terminology provided to them. The effective version of the case involved trained professionals that clearly described everything the parents needed to know about the situation, which helped make an informed decision (Salvia et al., 2012).

Step four is to be aware of how cultural differences may impact the understanding of assessment information. The culture of the school may not align with the culture of the family, which could lead to misunderstandings and other issues when communicating with parents. This is why a person who is aware of the students culture should be present during meetings with the parents. There were no clear cultural differences mentioned in either Amelias case, but it is possible that by not considering the possibility that Amelias mother might have time to assist her daughter in reading, they missed an intervention opportunity (Salvia et al., 2012).

Step five is to schedule meetings to facilitate parent attendance. In the modern world, it may be difficult to schedule parent meetings due to a variation in their work schedules. This is why it is important to consider each parents availability when scheduling them. Sometimes to facilitate it, the school staff might need to meet at a more convenient location for the parents. The school staff may also need to contact the employer of the parent to make sure they would allow the meeting to happen on a specific date.

In the ineffective communication case, Amelias father was not able to attend the meeting because of work, so he was not present during the explanation and signing of papers. In the effective communication case, the meeting occurred on a date favorable to both the school and the parents so that they may be fully informed of the situation (Salvia et al., 2012).

Step six is to clearly explain the purpose of any assessment activities, as well as the potential outcomes. Families of the students may not be aware of what assessment procedures are used to make decisions about the students. To guarantee full understanding, it is important to tell the parents about all the assessment processes and procedures that were performed. It could also be useful to inform parents of the meetings contents beforehand so that they may plan accordingly.

In the ineffective communication case, Amelias parents were told that they dont have to come to the meeting despite its importance, which left them uninformed. In the effective communication case, her parents were informed about the contents beforehand, and their presence helped implement an early intervention method that showed that Amelia could improve her reading ability (Salvia et al., 2012).

Step seven is to communicate using as little technical language as possible. Similarly to the earlier step about the importance of choosing the right language during the meeting, it is important to avoid technical terms that are often used in educational circles. Since the parents need to clearly understand the situation, all the terms should be understood (Salvia et al., 2012).

Step eight is to maintain a solution-focused orientation an avoid pointing blame. In some cases, issues that the student experience in the past or errors made by educators become issues that prevent the future solution of the problem from taking place. It is important to be informed by past experiences, but they should not prevent viable solutions from taking place. In the ineffective communication case, Amelias mother is dismissively told that the child clearly has a learning disability before any interventions were implemented. In the effective communication case, her issues with reading only serve to attempt additional training before more serious measures are undertaken (Salvia et al., 2012).

Reference

Salvia, J., Ysseldyke, J., & Witmer, S. (2012). Assessment in special and inclusive education (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Publishing.

Introduction

Nowadays, education remains one of the most important things for children and adults. Therefore, parents from Canada cover the expenses of summer camps with various developing programs for their sons and daughters. The following paper will present a literature review of works that describe the conditions and financial means required by educational children camps to teach and entertain their attendants.

Discussion

The first factor that is important to consider in the discussion of educational children camps in Canada implies money that needs to be spent on the household needs of such institutions. Food and drinks are the most expensive categories of products necessary for every organization that works with children permanently. It is estimated that the price Canadians pay for their food supplies annually amounts to $27 billion (Parizeau, Massow, & Martin, 2015).

Taking into account the fact that the current population of the country consists of 36 million people, every person needs approximately $7,500 for food every year. Hence childrens camps will be more expensive because of the tremendous amount of money spent on nutritious and healthy food. Although the article by Parizeau et al. (2015) observes the situation in the city of Ontario (Guelph region in particular), it can be applied to other states of the country as the prices of products do not differ significantly in its territory. Uhls et al. (2014) explain that educational camps are important for children who lack fellowship and social development.

It appears that children in camps without any gadgets and electronic devices spend more time with one another. It is necessary to mention that the problem of childrens involvement in social networks or video games reduces the amount of time they spend with their peers on a regular basis, which is important for their psychological and social development.

Review in Details

According to Lemieux and Riddell (2015), the average monthly income of a regular Canadian family amounts to $170.000, which makes it possible for parents to cover the childrens camp expenses. To evaluate the sources, it is important to discuss the ways Lemieux and Riddell (2015) tried to answer open questions regarding Canadians annual incomes. To be specific and accurate, the scholars decided to use results from the last census, where all people were obliged to provide precise data as to their living conditions. In turn, Parizeau et al. (2015) combined their survey results with the rate of household wastes in Guelph.

Also, the authors of the latter article used qualitative methodology during their research as they had to evaluate a wide range of factors that had an impact on the household expenses of Canadian citizens. They have also used demographic statistics in their study. However, Lemieux and Riddell (2015) preferred to use the quantitative methodology as they assessed peoples incomes by their age, education, regions, and many other factors that had a significant influence on monthly payments to Canadians from their employers (Lemieux & Riddell, 2015).

Uhls et al. (2014) used a quantitative methodology to describe the positive impact of summer educational camps on the development of children. Participants of the study did not have access to electronic devices for five days. The results showed that children socialized in camps much faster than in regular conditions. The data used to prove it implies evidence-based research with results of the appropriate experiment with groups of children. Organizers of the experiment compared initial results with that of children who successfully passed the program after the study was over.

Conclusion

Additional education and socialization are beneficial for contemporary children who can receive it at summer camps. These institutions charge the price of approximately $2000 a month to parents as they will need to feed the children, pay rent (optional), cover utility services, and pay salaries to local workers and teachers. The average income of Canadian families amounts to $170.000 per year, which makes it possible for them to provide their children with entertaining educational courses at camps. In educational summer camps without electronic devices, children prefer to have fellowship with one another and develop in their favorite hobbies.

References

Lemieux, T., & Riddell, W. C. (2015). Top incomes in Canada: Evidence from the census. National Bureau of Economic Research, 1(1), 1-25. Web.

Parizeau, K., Massow, M. V., & Martin, R. (2015). Household-level dynamics of food waste production and related beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours in Guelph, Ontario. Waste Management, 35(1), 207-217. Web.

Uhls, Y. T., Michikyan, M., Morris, J., Garcia, D., Small, G. W., Zgourou, E., & Greenfield, P. M. (2014). Five days at outdoor education camp without screens improves preteen skills with nonverbal emotion cues. Computers in Human Behavior, 39(1), 387-392. Web.

The teaching process is often hard and complex. It should ensure students receive the information in the best possible way. Usually, teaching is viewed as being universal and having a similar structure throughout all institutions. However, every student is different, and it is crucial to use a unique approach with each of them. While the teaching methods must vary among students with special needs, parents should also engage in an educational process in order to give children an understanding of its importance.

Teaching Students with Special Educational Needs

It is evident that students with physical disabilities require a different approach to their education. The role of teachers and educational assistants lies in ensuring that a child receives all the required information for the intellectual and social development along with other students. The tasks of a support staff vary from the ones of a teacher, being more targeted at serving a childs physical needs rather than teaching. They ensure that a child is not distracted from learning and can identify the tasks given by a teacher. There are controversial opinions about whether a support staff proves helpful for these categories of children.

Teachers have a leading role in this situation. Apart from teaching, they have to support children with special education needs by providing them with necessary surrounding conditions like the amount of light, sound, etc. While supporting them, a teacher should not pay too much attention to a single student, for everyone else will not get the amount of information required by the program. Moreover, the concept of responsibility, by default, must not affect students with educational assistants, so teachers have to ensure they spend enough time with their students instead of delegating their functions to support staff.

Parents Role in the Education Process

Usually, parents believe that the responsibility for their childrens education lies solely on teachers. However, students tend to show less progress if they do not see the interest in the learning process from their parents. Thus, it is important to engage parents in this process to ensure students are supported both at school and at home. Teachers can stimulate this situation in several ways. Firstly, it may include family projects when parents would have to devote their time to homework. Secondly, the cultural events should take place in families lives.

Teachers may assign to write reflection papers based on those events, thus underlining the importance of mutual learning and checking the students ability to analyze the material at the same time. Finally, regular parent meetings should be a source of signals whether parents are interested in their childrens learning or not. Teachers may address those families that do not show any involvement and describe the importance of parent support. It is especially important regarding parents of students with special educational needs, for they are the ones who decide on the childs participation in the IEP process. Their engagement will serve as a base for learning progress and adaptation.

Conclusion

Students with special educational needs require more effort put in their learning process than their classmates do. The most important role is played by the teacher, who should perform exclusive, yet fair, treatment of such children. It is crucial that they combine their forces with parents during this process to achieve the best possible results.

Introduction

Parenting and education are two aspects of a students school life that cannot be separated. Going by the fact that school children come from family backyards, the role of the parent in the entire childs school life is clearly cut out. Moreover, research findings point out that the role of the parents in the childrens academic lives is so crucial that if not played fully and effectively, the results and childrens success (academically) are likely to be negative. Parents look for schools for their children, prepares and take them to schools, meets all the children education costs, provides other parental care to the children, makes follow-ups to ensure that the children are comfortable in the learning institutions, ensures the children safety (both in school and at home), follows up the progress of their children in learning among others.

Ideally, it can be concluded that the role of the parents in the childrens education is unmatched. While some parents believe that the academic life of the child should be solely entrusted to the teachers, others believe they have a central role to play in the success of their children. This paper, therefore, looks at the way parents are involved in education and gives a lengthy argument on the contribution of the latter to the overall educational success.

Data

The respondent (parent) identified as a 33-year-old female in Taiwan who lived with her husband and who had a straight sexual orientation. In addition, the respondents race was typically Chinese. She also spoke Chinese, which she claimed was her native language. Asked about the number of children she had, the parent hinted that she had two male children, both of whom were of school-going age and attended an elementary school in the neighborhood. On her value of her childrens education, the parent indicated that there was nothing that mattered in her life than to see through her two boys to the highest level of education possible, revealing that she and her husband (both of whom had post-graduate qualifications), had presented a good role model, a thing that continued to inspire the boys to achieve even higher levels of education. In addition, the respondent hinted at their commitment to the course through close parental mentoring and support to the boys throughout their school life. The respondent believed that the success of the boys in education greatly depended on this support, a factor that she admitted that they were willing to provide.

Apart from payment of school fees, the respondent hinted that they had organized for private transport for the boys to and from school irrespective of the latter being within the vicinity of their dwelling unit. She also pointed out that it was the role of parents to ensure that their children got the best schooling environment if at all they were to attain the best results. Commenting on the importance of parental involvement in education matters, the respondent said that childrens education responsibility could not only be bestowed on the teachers and the students. Instead, she felt that the parents had a more central and crucial role to play in an effort to see through their childrens education success dream. She also indicated that the results of education could be more favorable in a circumstance where the schools management, teachers, and the parents could unite through healthy partnership encouraged by a quest to achieve a common objective (childrens educational success).

She however suggested the need for more parental involvement in the schools decision making and planning, which she noted was in the initial stages of development not only in the school the boys schooled but also in many other schools in the region. This, she said was an achievement in enhancing childrens education excellence in the region a move that she expressed optimism of holding more potential. As a chairperson of the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) in the school which the boys attended, the respondent said that it was irresponsible for the parents to entrust their children fully to the school administration and teachers. Instead, she suggested that there was a dire need for increased parental involvement in the childrens schooling life. Going by the take of the respondent, parents have a role in ensuring that all was well for their children both socially and academically. She suggested that the parents could also enhance childrens academic excellence through post-school hours tuition, assistance in homework completion as well as close monitoring of the childs performance both in the academic and social circles. These views of the respondent concur to a large extent with the views of the author (Annette) in her book, Home Advantage.

Ideally, she felt that the parents were central to the success of the childrens education saying that they were closer to and spent more time with the children than the teachers. As a result, she pointed out that parents ought to be in a better position to aid children in the achievement of their goals. Asked about the challenges that childrens education posed to the parents, the respondent hinted that seeing children through academic success and giving them the attention that they deserved was one of the most challenging bits of parenting. However, she said that childrens education was one of the most important parental obligations, so important to warrant relentless effort from the parent just to make sure that the children succeeded academically. In fact, she admitted that the success of education at whatever level largely depended on the parents realization that they have a central role to play thus actively involving themselves in all aspects that support childrens success in school.

Home Advantage

According to Annette (2000: 8), the involvement and role of parents in their childrens education is much more than their participation in the parents teachers organizations. Parents are fully in charge of the childs school life and success. In fact, the author argues that in a normal school day, a child spends only a third of the day in school and a whole two-third with the parents. However, a responsible parent will still be concerned and ensure that his child is fine whether in his vicinity or not (in school or at home). If parents are ineffective in their role and participation in the education system, failure in childrens education becomes imminent (Annette, 2000:11).

For example, from the results of the interview, it is evident that the respondent, as a parent of two, clearly understands the importance of active involvement of parents in their childrens education matters. According to her, parents must understand that they have an important role to play in their childrens academic success. Both the interviewee and her husband believe that the responsibility of ensuring children succeeds in school belonged to the parents: a fact that supports the argument of Annette (2000: 16).

The role of the parent (according to the respondent) ranges from basic children care to assist them in actual classwork. The respondent is the head of an association that enhances the close relationship between the tutors and the parents (PTA). Consequently, she recognizes the key role played by the parent in childrens education hence takes a front row in popularizing the association to enhance increased parental involvement in childrens education. Although the respondent admits that it is sometimes challenging on the part of the parent to actively involve herself in the education matter (perhaps due to the life commitment such as work), she points out that childrens educational success should always be accorded first priority. Indeed, she concurs with Annette (2000: 23) that child academic success is so important that it is worth sacrificing for. In fact, the respondent hailed the famous three hours in nine months approach. However, she said that this was so little time that parents should involve themselves more in childrens academic matters.

While admitting that parental involvement in childrens education was limited especially among the working class (who believed that there was a clear demarcation between the schools and homes about the education of their children), she pointed out that the trend was rapidly changing as parents continued to realize the importance of their active involvement in education. However, she credited this achievement to the important role of PTA, especially via aggressive sensitization campaigns to educate parents as to why they should concern themselves so much with their childrens education life. However, the critics of increased parental involvement in education argue that this could lead to role conflicts among the parties involved, especially if the parents were to be actively involved in actual school management and planning.

According to the evidence presented by Annette (2000: 24), parents are depicted as individuals who closely follow their childrens performance in class, closely monitor the work of their teachers and act fast to counter any threat that may compromise the childrens schooling. All these are thus indicated as characteristics of a good parent. It indicates that it is the responsibility of good parenting to take appropriate and haste action in a situation where the childs school life and performance are at stake. According to Annette (2000: 12) majority of the working class, however, feel that the responsibility of the childs academic well-being solely falls on the hands of the teachers; the latter of whom submits to the teachers professional authority.

According to Annette (2000:13), among this category of parents, the homes and schools are two distinct places with the individual in each sector having well cut out roles and responsibilities to play. As a result, such parents would have limited involvement in school affairs. Recent researches on families and schools as presented in Annette (2000) showed that parental involvement in school matters was on the increase mainly among middle-class parents. Although parental involvement in academics has been directed to social work (with the middle class being hailed for fostering learning opportunities for their children and the working class parents being hailed for resisting rules of oppressive schools management), involvement of parents in schools has been greatly advocated for.

Through PTA however, the parents get directly involved in childrens education during the childs schooling hours and offer a channel through which parents are directly involved in making decisions in the schools which have a direct impact on the well-being of the children. In addition programs such as the three hours in nine months (under which the parents are only required to avail themselves in school for just three hours within a period of nine months) is easy and irresistible getting parents to voluntarily participate in schools decision making and programs designing.

The education stakeholder have discovered the importance of

partnerships among the various parties that are involved in the education process in making the dream of the students and the system, to produce successful students, a reality. These partnerships have more so been encouraged, particularly between the teachers and the parents since the two are the parties with the greatest students contacts. Fostering relationships among these individuals has been proven a strategy whose results in enhancing greater parental participation in school activities have been vehemently positive. In this case, the parents are greatly credited for effectively playing the role of tutors advisers that can only thrive in circumstances where healthy and close relationships exist between the teachers and the parents (Annette, 2000:7).

Good parenting calls for concern from the parents about the education well being of the children, diagnose problems that the children might have, and devise appropriate solutions to solve the problem. For example, consider a family of Emily a fifth-grader student with a chronic reading problem that caused the parents sleepless nights since they had to discuss it all night for one year while trying to come up with a strategy that could help Emily come out of the problem. The moral support provided by such a move, coupled with encouragement accorded to her might initiate a turnaround for the poor student (Annette, 2000:7).

Conclusion

In conclusion, all facts indicate that the parents play a very central role in the success of childrens academics. The nature of education today requires that all the stakeholders in the education system work together for the childrens academic success. As a result, active involvement and commitment of parents, teachers, school management, the government, and the students at large are necessitated. Although parents involvement and role in education have been previously downplayed, all indication points out that it is imperative for children academics. Parents are the closest to the children, spend most of the time with them, and play a major role in mentoring and bringing them up in a socially acceptable manner. The manner in which these roles are played could mean the success or failure of the child in education. In the wake of the realization of this fact, evidence shows increased involvement of parents in educational matters. For instance, parents are increasingly getting involved in schools planning and decision making, providing financial support through fundraising & paying school fees for their children.

References

Annette, L., (2000). Home Advantage: Social Class and Parental Intervention in Elementary Education. Lowman and Littlefield Publisher, United States Of America.

Introduction

Every parent has a big role in the life of their kids. Their parenting is one of the guidelines of their children to live as a good person from their young age, adulthood and till their maturity. All parents are using different techniques or strategies on how they will guide, teach and discipline their young ones. In our essay, we will tackle the effects of having good parenting. Parenting will always have positive outcomes if it is effective and good. Part of having good parenting is the pure love of the parents. Both parents should always be on the same page in terms of disciplining and teaching the right attitudes to their children. Good parenting can be achieved if both parents are using the same parenting strategies. They should have the same goals also.

The basic factors why there is good parenting are the consistency of the parents in their rules, no favoritism, no toleration of bad habits and attitudes, and of course giving praise to their sons or daughters when they have done good things. These are some of the causes of why many children can easily adapt to their parenting. First, if both parents are consistent in their rules, and no matter what happens they should stick on what is right and good for their kids. In a simple example, if you instruct your kids to always brush their teeth after they eat sweets or candies for them not to have a toothache but they did not follow, you should remind them about that rules again until they do it because that is for their good.

Second, favoritism is a big NO. This factor should not be tolerated inside the family and both parents should not practice this factor. It can ruin the trust, the respect of your children to both of you and it can also lead to jealousy and bitterness. No favoritism is one of the biggest factors to make your connection with all your kids deeper and intact. It can also help your parenting more effectively because if they feel that you treat them fairly and equally all of them can follow and listen to you easily. And by not tolerating the favoritism you are also teaching them to be fair and not bias in treating others. If there is favoritism inside the family, it encourages some of the kids to do rebellion because they always feel unfavored in your sight but on the other hand if favoritism is not practiced, all of your kids will feel happy and love each other without any jealousy or hatred.

Next, no toleration of bad attitudes. Responsibility of the parents to teach their children to have good manners and attitude towards others. It is a must that all parents should also be a good model and example to their offspring on how to have a good manner. Parents should teach them to love, respect, share and consider others before they do something. For example, if one of your kid doesn’t want to share his toys with his playmate, and it causes frustration to his your son and the other kid and they both fight. As a parent, you should talk to your son and explain to him your rules in sharing the toys, remind him that what he did is wrong but there is still a chance for him to share his toys next time, tell him again that sharing is also loving. In that example, the parent is not tolerating what his son did, but she talked to him, she tells the truth and reminds him that sharing is good. You as a parent is helping your child to share what he has and love other kids.

Lastly, giving praise and recognition to what their children did especially if they did good is so overwhelming to them. Part of having good parenting is praising your sons and daughters whenever they did something good. Recognizing their positive and good attitudes are also encouraging them to do the same thing again next time because what they did is very acceptable and very good. For example, your son behaves in the school and did not repeat fighting with other kids. The teacher informs you about the changes he has now. After his school, you talked to him and you tell him that you are so proud of him by doing the right thing in the school, praising him because he did not do fighting again, and after you praise him because he changes his bad habit, you gave him a small reward and your son feel so encouraged to not fight again when he will go to school again. Praise and recognition can be their motivation to do good things, even you are not with them.

Those factors that we have tackles are some of the factors only of good parenting. As we have explained the effects of having good parenting on the children, we know now that good parenting will always have a big part in your children’s life. Being a good parent is not for you to be perfect but you should only put your love in everything that you are doing for your kids. Every discipline and guidance that you are implementing to them should not always authoritative but give them also a chance to enjoy their life as a kid. Parent’s love will always be the key to be intact and connected to the children. If you have a deeper connection with them it is easy for you and your partner to discipline them. Parenting is not magic but it is an effort that both parents should work it out and give time to observe what is the best strategies or techniques that both of you can use. Also remember, that parenting should not be a burden for you but think of it as a privilege for you to be a good steward of your children, God trusted you to take care of them, so enjoy it and love them.

ABSTRACT

In today’s society, it is essential we examine the lives of minorities within our societies as it is these people who often face adversity. Since the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the UK in 2014 and in the US in 2015, the rate of support for same-sex couples went through the roof. It was a natural point of focus for research to look into this newly accepted group within society. It is imperative that we understand more about such sectors as it aids in policy making and making life better for society in general.

This is essential as the number of people within these sectors is outnumbered and children within same-sex families are significantly under represented; despite this, with legislation reforms and more equality for homosexuals, these numbers will continue to grow. I will delve deeper and aim to uncover how such family dynamics may differ or affect the children within the family as well as the parents; also looking into how these individuals may have a different experience of society and social life within our largely oppressive, hetero-normative society.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Up until these years, support was growing however some remained with the attitude that homosexuals should not be allowed to raise children” and “male homo- sexual couples should be allowed to adopt children the same as heterosexual couples.” (Massey, 2007). Conflicting views lead to research being conducted. Post legalisation, attitudes have largely shifted, legislation and reformists have made it a point to claim that same sex parent families are ‘no different’ (Hewitt, J. 2017) to that of heterosexual mainstream society. This may be the case in theory, but what this research will focus on is whether, in fact, this is the case in practice; how do same sex parents and their children experience social life, are they one with society or are they marginalised. In her article, Hewitt makes it a point that it is imperative to evaluate which research we consider as valid; she says of 79 relevant studies 95% held a positive outlook on same-sex parenting however the remainder 5% suggested poorer outcomes from such families. If the majority of studies are displaying same sex parenting as a positive experience, then are the remaining studies writing from a place of personal bias, or have they found something which other studies have missed?

An American study, ‘queers as Folk’ claim to have taken a new approach in terms of methods and studied a large sample of 15,000 Americans which had had a parent involved in a same-sex relationship and found that even after considering variables, they still came to the conclusion that same-sex parenting does have adverse effects as “respondents were more apt to report being unemployed, less healthy, more depressed, more likely to have cheated on a spouse or partner, smoke more pot, had trouble with the law, report more male and female sex partners, more sexual victimisation, and were more likely to reflect negatively on their childhood family life” (Regnerus, M. 2012).

Literature on the topic of gay parenting stretches to opposite sides of the spectrum, this research proposes to go directly to the source which means asking those directly involved with same-sex parenting and questioning them on their experience within society and their families in the context of our heteronormative society. Legislation claims that discrimination based on sexual orientation is illegal, therefore any discrimination in any sectors such as employment/ training, education, goods and services, housing and public amenities such as the NHS, police etc. have no room for discrimination of any form, yet this is still happening, research has shown that homosexuals have limited access to starting a family. There have been “political and ethical debates over adoption, foster care and artificial reproductive technology” (Sprigg, P. 2012), agencies limit access for same-sex couples with the expressed fear that children would be brought up in “non-normative family structures” (Lautier, K. 2016) and do not stick to the tradition ‘nuclear family’ (G.P, Murdock. 1949), in other words same-sex parent families are oppressed as a result of mainstream society fearing anything that strays from the heteronormative ideals. It is important to analyse the effects on same-sex parent families as it is likely because of this they face marginalisation within society.

Recently, “literature has focused on dispelling the myths about the negative effects of same-sex parenting on children” (Patterson, 2009). IT is important to acknowledge that regardless the sexual orientation of the, those “parents who were experiencing higher levels of parenting stress, higher levels of inter-parental conflict, and lower levels of love for each other had children who exhibited more behaviour problems” (Patterson, C. 2000) showing children’s socialisation or upbringing is not sensitive to the parents sexual orientation but rather the parenting and environment in which the child is brought up, therefore it would be unethical to deny homosexuals the ability to form a family by assuming their parenting is of a lower standard solely on the merit of their sexuality. There are many complexes that emerge with their anti-homosexual attitudes. It is essential to make it clear that “the ideal of the just society as eliminating group differences is unrealistic” (Young, 1990 p.191), we live in a diverse postmodernist society and thus must be accepted. Stereotypes have been perpetuated that gay parents can turn their children gay which is troubling; “anti-homosexual attitudes might affect evaluations of the quality of same sex-parenting” when such statements are unrealistic and dangerous; “gender norms are not innate, but are imposed upon children at birth (Parker, J. 2016, p.162)”.

Heteronormative ideals being forced on all those within society can be seen with the research conducted within lesbian families.; parents were likely to maintain egalitarian division of labour, but when differences occurred, biological lesbian mothers were likely to do somewhat more childcare and non-biological lesbian mothers were likely to spend somewhat more time engaged in paid employment’ (Patterson, 1995). Despite the fact both parents are of the same sex, both identify with either traditional male or female roles and stick to them, showing they feel as though they need to conform to societal norms to feel as though they can enjoy the freedoms of society which heterosexuals enjoy. Methods “Research methods are a range of tools that are used for different types of enquiry” (Walliman, N. 2011); this proposal enquiry focuses on how same sex parent families experience parenting and social life within the context of wider hetero-normative society. It is imperative for the chosen method to allow us to gather qualitative data of first hand thoughts and experiences of participants.

Qualitative research is mainly concerned with “how people make sense of their world and the experiences they have in the world” (Merriam, 2009, p. 13). Taking that into consideration it is important to select the most effective method for this proposal; there is not necessarily a right or wrong method but some methods of data collection and analysis may be more appropriate than others (Woolrych et al.,2011). Interviews are at the heart of social research as they allow us data collection and interaction with the participants. We must consider the epistemology of the chosen method; epistemology is what constitutes valid knowledge and how we can obtain it, “it is the science of knowing” (Babbie 2015:6). With this particular research proposal, we will aim to find the epistemology of homosexual experiences of society. The most appropriate way to achieve that would be with the semi-structured interviews method. They are the middle-ground between structured and unstructured interviews; they are characterised by the following advantages.

They work on the basis of the interviewer having a set list of questions or guidelines as to what they want to question the participants on. The questions are to be tailored to be appropriate to the recipient. The researcher will have identified specific areas that they wish to explore in order to develop a particular concept or theory. This type of interview will appear more like a guided conversation than a structured interview. A major advantage is that semi-structured interviews aren’t designed to be as rigid as formal structured interviews, “semi-structured interviews are partly standardized but also allow the interviewer greater flexibility” (Miller, W. 1983 p.62), the researcher will have probes to guide the participant to explore their answers in a more profound qualitative manner. This method is particularly suited to the proposal at hand as at allows the participant to have control over them telling their own story to the researcher to some extent, however the researcher is still guiding the interview; this is important considering the interview will involve questions of a delicate nature regarding sexuality and difficulties which the families have faced. It is imperative that the participants are respected and their dignity be protected.

Another advantage to less formality and a less rigid structure is that the interviewer may share some details about themselves or share opinions etc. meaning the researcher can build a rapport with the participant which ensures participants feels comfortable and accepted considering sensitive topics will be discussed from sexuality to vulnerabilities. Participants may also be children, so it is important to have a sensitive approach. Ensuring the participant feels as though they are in a safe-space means it is more likely a valid sample of data will be able to be collected as the answers from the participants are far more likely to be honest and thus reliable.

Creating an atmosphere where the participant feels as though they can speak openly is advantageous as it also lessens the probability of the Hawthorne effect; the participants would not feel as though they needed to alter their opinions, withhold information or lie because of who they were speaking to or the presence of the researcher themselves. Semi-structured interviews are characteristically suited to exploring topics more in depth and studying marginalised and silenced people; in the scenario of this research proposal this is beneficial as it deals with minority groups within society that have been and continue to be largely oppressed and are the target of prejudice. Methods which give participants which may be considered vulnerable a voice are a valuable tool which must be utilised when appropriate. Disadvantages of semi-structured interviews must also be considered; semi-structured interviews are time consuming and expensive making it difficult to collate a large reliable sample.

Not only this but it lacks in reliability in the sense that its unstructured nature makes it difficult to exactly recreate, so different interviews may produce different questions meaning the research lacks focus, control, and a overall pragmatic approach (Creswell and Clark, 2007). Due to the variation between interviews over the research means it is difficult to codify the data into a more concise sample, the depth and amount of the qualitative data collected may be difficult to analyse. Finally, we must acknowledge that interviews are personal in nature therefore differ across participants making it difficult to generalise, Atkinson and Flint (2001) also spoke on the issue of “scrounging sampling”; allowing participants who may not be best suited for the research to participate to increase the numbers in the sample. This leads to further problems of validity as there is no way of testing the information provided by the participant.

Additionally, it is important to acknowledge some limitations of the chosen research. It is imperative that the researcher is reflexive and completely aware of the position of the interview; they must ensure that the participants have sufficient flexibility to speak about the issues they feel are important, which as an outsider the interviewer may have omitted to mention. However, it is also essential that meanwhile, the interviewer maintains control of the interview and identifies topics which provide the necessary data for the research (Caulfield & Hill, 2014: 113). In the scenario of this proposal this may be a limitation as the researcher must strike a balance between Another limitation could be “the narrowness of family structures under study” (Rosenfeld, 2010, p.757), the sample of participants focuses on gay and lesbian parent families does not extend to other sectors of the LGBT community which are likely to feel the same oppression if not more severe.

The design of this particular qualitative research proposal will consist of a sample of 100 same-sex parent families; a variety of gay and lesbian headed families. Similar to the smaller study of beyond the closet (Ryan and Berkowitz, 2009), this study was conducted with 18 lesbian mothers and 22 gay fathers- it was however limited only to those who managed to become parents and did not extend to the children which leaves a massive gap in essential knowledge. Therefore, in the study at hand, the families can, however are not limited to, have children to participate in the study. This will allow us to gain an insight into families who are experiencing strain in access to start a family. The sample of participants will be chosen at random from a sample of volunteers from across the country, from various backgrounds, classes etc.; this should combat this issue on ‘content bias’ (Buckley et al.) as participants who have had both positive or negative experiences will be welcome to participate, either to share their positive stories or raise awareness of oppression or marginalisation they may have faced.

Family members will be interviewed individually to allow them and their experience to be heard independently and not be clouded or influenced by opinions or experiences of others; for example, a child may just agree or repeat the opinions of their parents. Questions posed will attempt to delve into how these same-sex headed families experience our hetero-normative society differently to those who fit the heterosexual, nuclear family norm. An example of a question may be, ‘what is your opinion of access to starting a family for homosexuals?’ or ‘what has been your experience with public services, for example when you went to register your child at the GP or at school’. The researcher will make notes on the interview however meanwhile a recording will be taken so it can be referred to upon reflection of the data to allow for the qualitative research to be maximised.

REFLEXIVITY

This leads onto the issue the need for reflexivity to allow for a successful research project. With elements of the method that may be controversial, we must be reflect continuously; for example, recording interviews- this must be don’t overtly and it is essential that the participant be asked whether they would prefer for it to be turned off. This may cause difficulties in terms of the method however may produce more valid results and the participants may feel more at ease. This links to ethics and the participants right to withdraw.

This also allows the researcher to gain trust of the participant; research relationships must be characterised by “mutual respect and trust” (MacLean, M. 2008). We must also be reflexive as to the subjectivity of the researcher themselves and the impact they may have; in this instance, I as the researcher should not impact the research negatively nor through a bias eye as I hold no negative opinions or prejudices against homosexuals or their families, however I may not be able to understand as well as an interviewer who has been in their position. This however may not be so negative as it lowers the risk of ‘going native’ and spoiling the data.

ETHICS

Finally, it is imperative to consider ethics. Any field work research must have ethical clearance from an ethical clearance authority. Researchers must prove they will behave with integrity and transparency; the research will be carried out overtly and without deception and with the safety of participants kept in mind. Participants must give informed consent; we must also consider any power imbalances between researcher and participant, no one should feel pressured into participation (MacLean, M. 2008).

In regard to the research at hand this should not pose a problem as all participants will be briefed on the sensitive nature of the research and that it will focus on the parent’s sexual orientation. As for respect privacy, the identities of participants will maintain anonymity and their stories will remain confidential. We must acknowledge that these groups of people are likely to be deemed vulnerable, therefore we must be diligent with maintaining good ethics. Being that I, the researcher, am not adequately experienced I will be supervised by a researcher of higher skill to ensure codes of ethics are not breached.

With this research proposal, the most concern in terms of ethics would lie with ensuring those vulnerable, LGBT minorities and children, are dealt with particular care and are not exploited; this should not pose a massive challenge as the questions will be formulated especially for these participants and will be tailored to their vulnerabilities. In addition to this, if participants feel as though they’ve had enough or change their minds, their right to withdraw must be respected though out and after the interview; participants may disclose details they regret sharing (Alshenqeeti, H. 2014). Extra care must also be taken in terms of protecting the identities of these individuals to prevent them being targeted in anyway by those who have unsupportive political views.

CONCLUSION

After hearing experiences of LGBT groups being oppressed even in our modern societies, I as a research feel it is important to investigate further and see the how same-sex families are living in reality rather than in theory. Literature to a large extent has shown us that that attitudes and treatment have largely improved but it is imperative to learn the first-hand experiences of these people and delve into what actually does on. Investigating how same sex couples and their children experience parenting and social life within the context of wider hetero-normative society may open eyes and be transformative for these oppressed minority groups and may influence future policy. Minority voices must be heard.

In this paper, I will be discussing the parenting style I was raised on. The individual I will be continuously mentioning in this paper is my mother, Monica. She was my primary caregiver when I was growing up. The parenting style that was primarily used was authoritative, and this method stayed fairly consistent over the course of my childhood and adolescence. This particular parenting style has benefited not only my mother, but myself as well. Especially today, now that I am adult and I look back at what type of child I was. Authoritative parenting is an interesting and useful parenting style in raising a child.

According to the textbook, an authoritative parent is someone who is “high in demandingness and high in responsiveness” (Arnett & Jensen, 2019, p. LO 6.16). This means an authoritative parent has certain expectations of their child, but they also give their child necessary affection just as often. The authoritative parenting style can be seen as having a balance of both of these categories. When it comes to demandingness, the parent will express their reasoning for specific guidelines that must be followed (Arnett & Jensen, 2019). For responsiveness, they will give their child the attention and love that is needed.

While growing up, I considered my mom to be a bit strict at times. She was always very clear about what was expected of me. My mother would give explanations as to why she had such rules for me to follow. For instance, when we would go out in public, my mom would tell me that I would have to stay close to her so I wouldn’t get lost in the store, and I would be safe. I would also have to keep an “indoor” voice (which meant talking at a low to normal volume) because I didn’t want to disturb the people around us by yelling or drawing attention to myself. And most of all, my mom explained that these things would teach me to respect others around us while out in public. She emphasized the importance of respect because she did not want to raise her child to be rude or have bad behavior that others would witness. Also, respect was something I was supposed to learn, so I could use it for the rest of my life and apply it to various encounters as I got older.

Moreover, there were quite a few times when I would ask my mom for something and she would tell me no. An example of this would be when I wanted a certain toy, but my mother would say that I could not get it. When I would ask why, she explained to me that I had enough toys at home and I did not need a new toy right now. Of course, there were occasions when I heavily begged her to buy it for me. In those situations, she would set up a “deal” with me which involved completing a set of expectations she had for the following week. If I completed them all, then we would go back to the store and buy the toy. If I did not meet those expectations, then I would not get the toy. Such expectations involved tasks like completing and doing well on my school work, doing my chores, going to bed early, behaving well, and more. These “deals” worked most of the time, and I would feel proud of myself because I did all my work to earn it. Although, I never did these things to always get what I wanted. These expectations were of the norm, but they were a little bit more extensive because I wanted something special. If anything, the toy was seen as a reward. My mom enjoyed doing things like this for me because she knew how much I would appreciate the reward. And, she loved that I was an overall well-behaved child.

Despite the rules my mom always had, she was (and still is) such a loving and affectionate parent. I cannot express how much love my mother has given me over my lifetime. Not a day has went by where my mom has not said “I love you” to me. In fact, she tells me these words multiple times a day and she means them every single time. My mother has never neglected any of my emotional needs thus far. Whenever I would get sad as a child, my mom always comforted me, hugged me, and helped me feel better by just talking things out. During some of my school years, I went through a series of different friend groups. They often contained a lot of drama and I would come home crying. It was all too stressful for me during those years. Each time that happened, my mom would sit me down, comfort me, discuss what was happening, and give me advice about what to do. She never made me feel bad for crying, even if it was over something small. My mother taught me to be open with my emotions and she explained that it was never good to hold them in or to hide them. She stressed how important it is to display my emotions, otherwise I may not be able to get through difficult situations. Therefore, I became comfortable with crying in front of others since that was what I learned. My mom has always showed genuine concern whenever I feel down or something is bothering me in life.

Additionally, my mother and I have formed such a strong bond with one another over the years. I can say she is truly my best friend. Starting from a young age, we have always made conversation with each other. From silly talks to deep hearted ones, we’ve experienced it all together. Due to that, I have developed a great sense of trust. She has taught me several valuable life lessons that I am currently applying to my life at this very moment. My mother has given me an immense amount of guidance that I cannot be more thankful for. Also, she has taught me about love and affection. I have a very small immediate family that consists of about eight individuals. Only my mother, siblings, and I say “I love you” or give hugs to one another. The rest of my family does not for some unknown reason. With that said, I have learned that love is a powerful emotion that has incredible meaning to it. And, it is crucial to display it to the ones you genuinely love. Since my mom has shown me this every day, I value love to a great extent. I have discovered over time that love is significant to show to others not because you have to or you should, but because you want to. Otherwise, it is not worth expressing. This lesson has become vital to my life in certain situations, particularly relationships. Without this knowledge, I am not sure how I would view love or if I would be conveying it in the proper way.

I believe that my mother used this parenting style because she was raised in a very similar way. She grew up with only her mother and two older sisters. Unfortunately, they did not have much money and they all had jobs starting from a young age. Although my grandmother never forced my mom to get a job, she explained why it would be helpful to the family if my mother started working early. If my mom worked and helped bring in money, then their family would be able to pay bills on time and afford more items. This could be seen as an example of the “deal” my mother gave to me as a child, except this situation was crucial to their everyday life at the time. Furthermore, love was of great importance to my grandmother and her children. My mom has told me stories of how she and her mother bonded over so many troubling times. These life obstacles are what allowed them to form a close bond with each other. Even to this day, they still talk on the phone and say “I love you” about five times before they hang up, which I adore. I think the reason they grew so close to each other is due to the fact that my grandfather was never around. So, my grandmother made sure her daughters knew what it felt like to be loved and cherished, even if it was just by one parent. I believe that is why my mom did just the same with my siblings and I.

This specific parenting style has seemed to be very effective in making me the adult I am today. The authoritative parenting style taught me essential and valuable life lessons at a young age. I have taken these lessons and applied them to majority of the situations I have encountered in my life thus far. I would say the most significant lesson this style has taught me, is how to be respectful. From family members to random strangers, respect is necessary to have towards others I come across in life. Being respectful is something that many individuals admire when they recognize it, which makes me feel good knowing I can do that for someone. I believe the authoritative parenting style has also taught me to see and understand others’ emotions from their point of view. As I mentioned before, I learned how to express my emotions because my mom taught me so. Whenever I see others in pain, I do my best to comfort them and be their emotional support. In addition, I have learned a lot about trust itself. Many of the close bonds I have built with people are based on what I learned about trust. I know it is vital to be social with others and make new friends. In that way, I can create bonds and trust with those I care about most. I would not say I trust easily, but it takes time for me to have these feelings and be able to authentically express them.

One final thing the authoritative parenting style has taught me is how to be confident in myself. For the longest time, I used to be extremely shy (surprisingly). It wasn’t until I got older that I realized that I could no longer be this way, as it did not get me far in social situations. Eventually, I became confident in who I am and I was not afraid to show it. Due to this confidence, I have gotten more independent, worked on my insecurities, and have become more talkative to new people I meet. I really admire this parenting style because it taught me a balance of discipline and love. I am grateful I was able to experience both in a well-structured manner by my mother. For my future children, I will absolutely try using this style in raising them. The authoritative parenting style has had a positive impact on my life. It is hard for me to imagine what type of person I would be if I hadn’t experienced having an authoritative parent. Therefore, I want my future children to have a similar experience. It will reassure me to know that I will be raising confident, independent, and loving children if I use the authoritative parenting style.

For a long time, kids experiencing childhood in a single parent family have been seen in various cases. Being raised by just one parent appears to be difficult to numerous yet throughout the decades it has turned out to be increasingly predominant. In the present society numerous kids have grown up to turn out to be genuinely steady and effective whether they had a couple of guardians to show them the rough way that life gives to every single person. The issue lies in the distinction of children raised by single guardians versus kids raised by both a mother and a dad. Does a kid need the two guardians? Does a little child need a dad figure around? Does the administration give assistance to single parents? What job do step-parents play in their kids lives? With much consideration, this theme has turned into an exceptionally interesting contention. What individuals must comprehend is that appropriately bringing up a kid doesn’t depend on the structure of a family yet ought to be progressively centered around the procedure or qualities that are educated to these kids as they figure out how to develop. Children of single parents can be similarly as dynamic with enthusiastic, social and conduct abilities as those with two guardians. People claim that the only way for children to gain full emotional and behavioral skills is to be raised by both a mother and a father, when in any case that isn´t completely true.

At the point when someone has a wide measure of factors it is difficult to just connect these issues to just having one parent. In the article, ‘Single-parent families cause adolescent wrongdoing’, writer Robert L. Maginnis states, ‘Kids from single-parent families are bound to have conduct issues since they will in general need financial security and satisfactory time with guardians’. The basic articulation that crude crooks are results of single-parent pre-adulthood is a premature statement. What this author must comprehend is that it tends to be incredibly hard for one parent to bring up a kid without anyone else for some reasons. A single parent must work all day to have the option to stand to accommodate themselves and their kid. They should likewise have the option to in any case have the opportunity to offer a rich measure of passionate time for the prosperity of their youngster. In any case, despite the fact that this may appear to be unimaginable, it tends to be finished. As this subject keeps on being looked down on individuals must understand that single parents are ending up progressively normal in this day and age. Since 1995 the American family structure for kids ages fourteen to eighteen comprises of forty-two percent living in a first marriage family with the two guardians, twenty-two percent living in a subsequent marriage step-family, twenty-one percent living with a solitary parent, separated or isolated family, six percent living in a single parent never wedded family and three percent living in a single parent deprived family. This is an incredibly alarming measurement thinking about that fifty-eight percent of kids in America are surviving with a single parent family. This is a chilling rate since it shows how little confidence is placed into a relationship before really choosing to have youngsters. Usually not every single-parent set aside the effort to play out the essential assignments expected to bring up their kids. Parents who figure they could always be unable to give passionate security to their kids independent from anyone else ought to have set aside the effort to thoroughly consider this before choosing to move toward becoming guardians. Mishaps may happen once in for a spell yet by and large grown-ups realize what is in question when wanting to have a kid. Plain and basic, in case you’re not prepared, than don’t do it. On the off chance that people do choose to have a kid and love this kid, at that point people can be a decent parents. There are numerous approaches to improve the prosperity of people’s children on the off chance that people essentially take on the role as guardians.

Magginnis later expresses that, ‘Young men who don’t have fathers as male good examples endure particularly’. While it is critical for a male youngster to have his dad around, there are different methods for showing a little fellow the exercises he needs to turn into a man. In a similar way I know from individual experience that what the writer of this article is attempting to pass on isn’t right. I never had my grandparents around while growing up and I did in truth have numerous positive male good examples. My father was consistently there to help control me as I gradually bloomed into a youngster. Whenever my mom needed to work to help us, my dad and five brothers would step up and give the time and consideration I required. In this manner, I had the best care group I could have had as a youngster. Being a kid with a single parent had its advantages. Despite the fact that I came to discover how hard it truly was for her to constantly address the issues of her youngster, she did the best employment that she could and gave me the information that I expected to turn into an effective man without the direction of my dad. I did anyway have the experience of managing a stage parent. Today, twenty-five percent of every single American kid will invest probably some energy of their growing-up a very long time in a stepfamily. This appears to be fine for single guardians since they have a feeling that they can begin once again in another relationship and get help from their companion both sincerely and monetarily. A stage parent can cause disarray and passionate weight on the kid since they have quite recently needed to change in accordance with just one parent and now need to conform to another parental consider venturing along with the family job. Another factor of bringing a stage parent into a solitary family’s life is new advance kin to coexist with. It probably won’t be defended for a stage parent to rebuff their progression youngster like they would their very own fragile living creature and blood. For whatever length of time that the two guardians have an understanding that their family starts things out and that it is essential to impart among themselves and with the youngsters, a stage family could endure. Kids who are raised with both a mother and a dad have more consideration from the two guardians thusly they get the passionate time they have to advance throughout everyday life. This could be valid however not in all conditions. It would not be useful at all to experience childhood in a two parent family who sat idle however contend and put each-other down. Normally, a kid who sees this from an exceptionally youthful age until they are prepared to be out individually would just follow in the strides of all that they have ever known. Kids who are raised by one parent who gives their time and feeling into their child would profit considerably more than a kid who has the two guardians giving them that battling and contending is worthy. Not all families are fortunate enough to have a sound structure. It is significant for society and government helps to see these basic contrasts and make a move. There ought to be government supported projects to help single-parent families with childcare and funds for guardians who must work and still possess energy for their youngsters.

Regardless of whether it’s a mother and a dad, a single parent, or a single parent, youngsters need direction. They will just turn into a result of what they are instructed since early on and these kids are profoundly influenced sincerely by the measure of affection and sympathy that is placed into raising them. Whichever family structure is inferred it must be one of regard and solid virtues that they can sometime pass on to their family.