Parenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional,
socialSocial development is a process which results in the transformation of social structures in a manner which improves the capacity of the society to fulfill its aspirations. Society develops by consciousness and social consciousness develops by organization. The process that is subconscious in the...
, and intellectual development of a child from
infancyAn infant or baby is the term used to refer to the very young offspring of humans and other primates.-Infant:The term infant derives from the Latin word infans, meaning "unable to speak."...
to
adultThe term adult has at least three distinct meanings. It can indicate a biologically grown or mature person. It may also mean a plant, animal, or person who has reached full growth or alternatively is capable of reproduction, or the classification legal adult, generally determined as a person who...
hood. Parenting refers to the activity of raising a child rather than the biological relationship.
In the case of humans, it is usually done by the biological parents of the child in question, although
governmentA government is the body within a community, political entity or organization which has the authority to make and enforce rules, laws and regulations.....
s and
societySociety or human society is the manner or condition in which the members of a community live together for their mutual benefit. By extension, society denotes the people of a region or country, sometimes even the world, taken as a whole....
take a role as well. In many cases, orphaned or abandoned children receive parental care from non-parent blood relations. Others may be
adoptedAdoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another who is not kin and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
, raised by
foster careFoster care is a system by which a certified, stand-in "parent" cares for minor children or young people who have been removed from their birth parents or other custodial adults by state authority....
, or be placed in an
orphanageOrphanage is the name to describe a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable to care for them...
.
The goals of human parenting are debated. Usually, parental figures provide for a child's physical needs, protect them from harm, and impart in them
skillsSkills is a San Francisco-based event promoter that promotes parties and concerts in San Francisco and the SF Bay Area. It is known for being one of the most popular and largest electronic music promoters in California and the United States. Skills is also a popular record store and label known as...
and
cultural valuesA personal and cultural value is a relative ethic value, an assumption upon which implementation can be extrapolated. A value system is a set of consistent values and measures. A principle value is a foundation upon which other values and measures of integrity are based...
until they reach legal adulthood, usually after
adolescenceAdolescence Adolescence Adolescence (lat adolescere, (to grow) is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development that occurs between childhood and adulthood. This transition involves biological (i.e. pubertal), social, and psychological changes, though the biological or...
. Among non-human species, parenting is usually less lengthy and complicated, though
mammalMammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose females are characterized by the possession of mammary glands while both males and females are characterized by sweat glands, hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the brain.Mammals are divided into three main...
s tend to nurture their young extensively. The degree of attention parents invest in their offspring is largely inversely proportional to the number of offspring the average adult in the species produces.
Parental duties
There is general consensus around parents providing the basic necessities, with increasing interest in
children's rightsChildren's rights are the perceived human rights of children with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to the young, including their right to association with both biological parents, human identity as well as the basic needs for food, universal state-paid...
within the home environment.
| Need |
Parental task |
| Physical security – the safety of a child's body and life. |
Provide physical safetySafety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be...
: shelter, clothes, nourishmentFood is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal, including humans, for nutrition or pleasure. Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus or fermented products like alcohol...
To protectProtect , or The National Association to Protect Children, is a political organization established in 2002 and dedicated to the protection of children from abuse, exploitation and neglect. It is a nonprofit, 501 membership association with members in every U.S. state and 10 nations...
a child from dangers; physical care
To care for a child's health |
| Physical development – appropriate conditions for a health At the of the creation of the World Health Organization , in 1948, Health was defined as being "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity"....
y growthGrowth refers to an increase in some quantity over time. The quantity can be physical or abstract . It can also refer to the mode of growth, i.e...
of a child |
To provide a child with the means to develop physically
To train the body of a child, to introduce to exercise
To develop habitHabits are routines of behavior that are repeated regularly, tend to occur subconsciously, without directly thinking consciously about them. Habitual behavior sometimes goes unnoticed in persons exhibiting them, because it is often unnecessary to engage in self-analysis when undertaking in routine...
s of health |
| Intellectual security – the condition Condition can refer to:* A state of being.* Living condition, see Quality of life.* In health, a disease, such as a heart condition, as in Medical condition.* A proposition upon which another proposition depends, such as "if-then" statements...
s in which a child's mind can develop |
Provide an atmosphere of peace and justice and respect to one's dignity
Provide an environment without fear, threat, and abuse
|
| Intellectual development – providing opportunity to a child to learn |
Reading, writing, calculating etc.
Support and/or provide school related learning
Teach social skillsA social skill is any skill facilitating interaction and communication with others. Social rules and relations are created, communicated, and changed in verbal and nonverbal ways...
and etiquetteEtiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
MoralMorality has three principal meanings.In its first, descriptive usage, morality means a code of conduct or belief concerning matters of what is moral or immoral...
and spiritualSpirituality is relating to, consisting of, or having the nature of spirit; not tangible or material. Synonyms include immaterialism, dualism, incorporeality and eternity....
development. As well as creating an ethicsEthics is a branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about morality, such as what the fundamental semantic, ontological, and epistemic nature of ethics or morality is , how moral values should be determined , how a moral outcome can be achieved in specific situations , how moral...
and value systems with social normsSocial norms are the behavioral expectations and cues within a society or group. This sociological term has been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors." These rules may be explicit or implicit...
that contribute to the child's beliefBelief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.- Belief, knowledge and epistemology :The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....
s, culture; and customsA convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted standards, norms, social norms or criteria, often taking the form of a custom....
|
| Emotional security – to help protect a child's psyche |
Provide a safe loving environment
Give a child a sense of being loveLove is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection and attachment. The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure to intense interpersonal attraction...
d, being needed, welcomed
Emotional support, encouragement
AttachmentAn attachment is a component added onto a machine to alter its functioning. Attachment may also refer to:* Attachment , a predictable emotional connection between individuals...
, caressing, hugA hug is a form of physical intimacy that usually involves closing or holding the arms around another person or group of persons. The hug is one of the most common human signs of love and affection, along with kissing...
ging, touchHaptics refers to the sense of touch . It may refer to:* Haptic technology, technology that interfaces with the user through the sense of touch...
, etc. |
| Emotional development – developing the child's ability to love, care, help, etc. |
Show empathy Empathy, which literally translates as 'in feeling', is the capability to share and understand another's emotions and feelings. It is often characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes".-Etymology:...
and compassionCompassion is a human emotion prompted by the pain of others. More vigorous than empathy, the feeling commonly gives rise to an active desire to alleviate another's suffering. It is often, though not inevitably, the key component in what manifests in the social context as altruism...
to younger and older, weaker and sicker, etc.
Caring for others, helping grandparents, etc. |
Other parental duties can include:
- Financial support: Money
Money is anything that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value, and occasionally, a standard of deferred payment...
provided as child supportIn family law and government policy, child support or child maintenance is the ongoing obligation for a periodic payment made directly or indirectly by an to an for the financial care and support of children of a relationship or marriage that has been terminated, or in some cases never existed...
by custodial or non-custodial parent(s)Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are sometimes used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the...
, or the state
- Insurance
Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium, and can be thought of as a guaranteed and known...
coverage and payments for education
- Teaching your child to have fun, too, and balance it with life responsibilities.
Parenting models, tools, philosophies and practices
Although race may be a significant contributing factor,
social classSocial classes are the hierarchical arrangements of people in society as economic or cultural groups. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political economists and social historians...
,
wealthWealth is an abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...
, and
incomeIncome is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...
have the strongest impact on what methods of child rearing are used by parents. Lack of money is found to be the defining factor in the style of child rearing that is chosen, and minorities are more likely to have less wealth or assets available for use in their children's upbringing. Societal values and norms of a generation also have an effect, as in the United States where authoritarian parenting was the most popular until the 1960s when a backlash made permissive parenting the most popular in the 1970s.
Developmental psychologistDevelopmental psychology, also known as human development, is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes that occur in human beings over the course of the life span. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence and adult development,...
Diana BaumrindDiana Blumberg Baumrind is a clinical and developmental psychologist.Baumrind was born into a small Jewish community in New York City, the first of two daughters of Hyman and Mollie Blumberg. She completed her A.B. in Psychology and Philosophy at Hunter College in 1948, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in...
identified three main
parenting stylesParenting style is a psychological construct representing standard strategies parents use in raising their children.- Four general parenting styles :One of the best known theories of parenting style was developed by Diana Baumrind...
in early
child developmentChild development stages describe theoretical milestones of child development. Many stage models of development have been proposed, used as working concepts and in some cases asserted as nativist theories....
: authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive. Maccoby and Martin expanded the styles to four: authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent and neglectful. These four styles of parenting involve combinations of acceptance and responsiveness on the one hand and demand and control on the other.
There is no single or definitive model of parenting. What may be right for one family or one child may not be suitable for another. With authoritative and permissive (indulgent) parenting on opposite sides of the spectrum, most conventional and modern models of parenting fall somewhere in between.
Conventional models of parenting
- Rules of traffic models – an instruction
Instruction may refer to:* Education, the teaching and learning of knowledge* Teaching, a form of instruction* Sebayt, a work of the ancient Egyptian didactic literature aiming to teach ethical behaviour...
al approach where parents explain to their children how to behave, teaching the rules of behaviorBehavior or behaviour refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environment. Behavior can be conscious or subconscious, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary....
as they would the rules of traffic. For example, a teenager was told "a thousand times" that stealing was wrong yet the teen continued to do so. The problem of parenting, in this case, is not that they tried to teach him/her the right thing, but that they failed to provide deeper moral and social implications.
- Fine gardening model – a model in which parents believe that children have positive and negative qualities, the latter of which parents should "weed out" or "prune" into an appropriate shape. The problem in this parenting method is that parents fight with the fault
Fault may refer to:*Fault , planar rock fractures which show evidence of relative movement*Fault , an abnormal condition or defect at the component, equipment, or sub-system level which may lead to a failure...
s of their child rather than appreciate their current achievements and/or capabilities; a method which may continue through their whole life without successSuccess may mean:* a level of social status* achievement of an objective/goal* the opposite of failure- Geography :* Success, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth, Australia* Success, Arkansas, United States* Success, Missouri, United States...
.
- Reward and punishment – a model of parenting based on logic
Logic, from the Greek λογική is the art and science of reasoning. More specifically, it is defined by the Penguin Encyclopedia to be "The formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning". As a discipline, logic dates back to Aristotle, who established its...
: for a good behavior the child receives a rewardA reward may refer to:*Bounty , reward, often money, offered as an incentive*Reward website, website that offers rewards for performing tasks-Science:*Reward system, collection of brain structures which induce pleasurable effects...
or praiseIn its common usage, praise is the act of making positive statements about a person, object or idea, either in public or privately. Praise is typically, but not exclusively, earned relative to achievement and accomplishment...
, and for a bad or unwanted behavior the child receives a punishmentPunishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant or aversive on a person or animal, usually in response to disobedience, defiance, or behavior deemed morally wrong by individual, governmental, or religious principles.-Etymology:...
/reprimandA reprimand is a severe, formal or official reproof. Reprimanding takes in different forms in different legal systems, such as in UK law and American law.- UK :...
. To teach a child by this logic may be very effective if it is done consistently.
Modern models of parenting
Parenting typically utilizes tools of reward and punishment method, but most
child developmentChild development stages describe theoretical milestones of child development. Many stage models of development have been proposed, used as working concepts and in some cases asserted as nativist theories....
experts now agree that
corporal punishmentCorporal punishment is the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to change an undesirable attitude or behaviour...
is not an effective
behavior modificationBehavior modification is the use of empirically demonstrated behavior change techniques to improve behavior, such as altering an individual's behaviors and reactions to stimuli through positive and negative reinforcement of adaptive behavior and/or the reduction of maladaptive behavior through...
tool. In 24 countries around the world corporal punishment (e.g.,
spankingSpanking is a form of corporal punishment commonly used to discipline a child. It typically consists of an adult striking a child's buttocks without producing physical injury....
or whipping) has been prohibited by law. Many parents have adopted non-physical approaches to
child disciplineChild discipline is the set of rules, rewards and punishments administered to increase desirable behaviors and decrease undesirable behaviors in children. It is a topic that draws from a wide range of interested fields, such as parents, the professional practice of behavior analysis, developmental...
, for example
time-outA time-out is an educational and parenting technique recommended by some pediatricians and developmental psychologists as an effective form of child discipline. It involves temporarily removing a child from an environment where inappropriate behavior has occurred, thereby discouraging such behavior...
. The other "civilized" forms of discipline
behavioralHuman behavior is the collection of behaviors exhibited by human beings and influenced by culture, attitudes, emotions, values, ethics, authority, rapport, hypnosis, persuasion, coercion and/or genetics....
controlControl is one of the managerial functions like planning, organizing, staffing and directing. It is an important function because it helps to check the errors and to take the corrective action so that deviation from standards are minimized and stated goals of the organization are achieved in...
,
structureStructure is a fundamental and sometimes intangible notion covering the recognition, observation, nature, and stability of patterns and relationships of entities...
,
accountabilityAccountability is a concept in ethics with several meanings. It is often used synonymously with such concepts as responsibility, answerability, enforcement, blameworthiness, liability, and other terms associated with the expectation of account-giving...
,
parental supervisionParental supervision is a parenting technique that involves looking after, or monitoring a child's activities.Young children are generally incapable of looking after themselves, and incompetent in making informed decisions for their own well-being...
, etc.
Parenting For Everyone
The
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
of Parenting For Everyone, which stems from the book by the same name, considers parenting from the ethical point of view. It analyzes parenting goals,
conditionCondition can refer to:* A state of being.* Living condition, see Quality of life.* In health, a disease, such as a heart condition, as in Medical condition.* A proposition upon which another proposition depends, such as "if-then" statements...
s and
meanIn statistics, mean has two related meanings:* the arithmetic mean .* the expected value of a random variable, which is also called the population mean....
s of childrearing. It offers to look at a child's internal world (emotions,
intelligenceIntelligence is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to learn. There are several ways to define intelligence...
and
spiritThe English word "spirit" has many differing meanings and connotations, but commonly refers to a supernatural being or essence — transcendent and therefore metaphysical in its nature: the Concise Oxford Dictionary defines it as "the non-physical part of a person"...
) and derive the sources of parenting
successSuccess may mean:* a level of social status* achievement of an objective/goal* the opposite of failure- Geography :* Success, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth, Australia* Success, Arkansas, United States* Success, Missouri, United States...
from there. The concept of heart implies the child's sense of being loved and their ability to love others. The concept of intelligence implies the child's morals. And the concept of spirit implies the child's desire to do good actions and avoid bad behavior, avoid encroaching upon anybody's dignity. The
core- Science and academics :* Core , in mathematics, an object in group theory* Core , in mathematics, a subset of the domain of a closable operator* Core , in mathematics, the homomorphically minimal subgraph of a graph...
concept of the philosophy of Parenting For Everyone is the concept of dignity, the child's sense of
worth-Persons:*Bobby Worth , American songwriter*Brendan Worth, Australian rugby league player*Brian Worth , British actor*Charles Frederick Worth , an English-born fashion designer of the 19th century...
iness and justice.
Christian parenting
In the United States, disparate models explicitly termed "
ChristianChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
parenting" are popular among some parents who claim to apply
biblicalThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
principles to parenting. Information on Christian parenting is found in publications, Christian parenting websites, and in seminars devoted to helping parents apply Christian principles to parenting.
While some Christian parenting models are strict and authoritarian, others are
"grace-based"Gentle Christian Mothers is an online community for Christian mothers who practice attachment parenting as popularized by Dr. William Sears. In 2006 Gentle Christian Mothers, or GCM, had hundreds of female members from around the world, mostly mothers but including some grandmothers and those who...
and share methods advocated in
attachment parentingAttachment parenting, a phrase coined by pediatrician William Sears, is a parenting philosophy based on the principles of the attachment theory in developmental psychology. According to attachment theory, the child forms a strong emotional bond with caregivers during childhood with lifelong...
and positive parenting theories. Particularly influential on opposite sides have been
James DobsonJames Clayton "Jim" Dobson, Jr. has a PhD in child psychology, and is an American evangelical Christian author and founder of Focus on the Family , a nonprofit organization he founded in 1977 which he also chaired until 2003...
and his book
Dare to Discipline, and
William SearsWilliam Sears is an American pediatrician and the author or co-author of more than 30 parenting books, most notably several in the "Sears Parenting Library." He is a frequent guest on television talkshows, where he goes by the name Dr. Bill...
who has written several parenting books including
The Complete Book of Christian Parenting & Child Care and
The Discipline Book.
In a study of Christian parents done by
Christian Parenting Today in 2000, 39% of the families surveyed have family devotions once a week or more, and 69% of parents consider Sunday school, youth and children's programs extremely important.
Other modern models of parenting
Examples of other modern parenting models include:
- Slow parenting
Slow parenting is a parenting style of fewer organised activities for children, instead allowing them to enjoy their childhood and explore the world at their own pace...
– Encourages parents to plan and organise less for their children, instead allowing them to enjoy their childhood and explore the world at their own pace.
- Nurturant parent model
The nurturant parent model envisions a family model where children are expected to explore their surroundings with protection from their parents. This model believes that children inherently know what they need and should be allowed to explore...
– A family model where children are expected to explore their surroundings with protection from their parents.
- Strict father model
The strict father model of parenting is one which places strong value on discipline as a means to survive and thrive in a harsh world.Ideas involved in this model include:* That children learn through reward and punishment, as in operant conditioning....
– Places a strong value on discipline as a means to survive and thrive in a harsh world.
- Attachment parenting
Attachment parenting, a phrase coined by pediatrician William Sears, is a parenting philosophy based on the principles of the attachment theory in developmental psychology. According to attachment theory, the child forms a strong emotional bond with caregivers during childhood with lifelong...
– Seeks to create strong emotional bondHuman bonding refers to the development of a close, interpersonal relationship between family members or friends. Bonding is a mutual, interactive process, and is not the same as simple liking. The term is from the 12th century, Middle English word band or band, which refers to something that...
s, avoiding physical punishment and accomplishing discipline through interactionInteraction is a kind of action that occurs as two or more objects have an effect upon one another. The idea of a two-way effect is essential in the concept of interaction, as opposed to a one-way causal effect...
s recognizing a child's emotional needs all while focusing on holistic understandingUnderstanding is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to think about it and use concepts to deal adequately with that object....
of the child.
- Taking Children Seriously
Taking Children Seriously is a parenting movement and educational philosophy whose central idea is that is possible and desirable to raise and educate children without either doing anything to them against their will, or making them do anything against their will.It was founded in 1994 as an email...
– Sees both praise and punishmentIn operant conditioning, punishment is any change in a human or animal's surroundings that occurs after a given behavior or response which reduces the likelihood of that behavior occurring again in the future. As with reinforcement, it is the behavior, not the animal, that is punished...
as manipulativeAccording to Simon, successful psychological manipulation primarily involves concealing aggressive intentions and behaviors and knowing the psychological vulnerabilities of your opponent to determine what tactics are likely to be the most effective...
and harmHARM may refer to :* AGM-88 HARM, , a missile* Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum, a museum located in Creve Coeur, Missouri, United StatesH.A.R.M. may stand for :...
ful to children and advocateAn advocate is one who speaks on behalf of another person, especially in a legal context. It is used primarily in reference to the system of Scots law, Anglo-Dutch law, Scandinavian and Israeli law. Implicit in the concept is the notion that the represented lacks the knowledge, skill, ability, or...
s other methods to reach agreementAgreement may refer to:* Agreement or concord, cross-reference between parts of a phrase* Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law* Contract, enforceable in a court of law...
with them.
Planning and pre-pregnancy
Family planningFamily planning is the planning of when to have children, and the use of birth control and other techniques to implement such plans. Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and...
decisions about whether and when to become parents, planning, preparing, gathering resources.
Reproductive healthWithin the framework of WHO's definition of health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, reproductive health, or sexual health/hygiene, addresses the reproductive processes, functions and system at all stages of life...
and preconceptional care affect pregnancy, reproductive success and maternal and child physical and mental health.
Pregnancy and prenatal parenting
During
pregnancyPregnancy is the carrying of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, inside the uterus of a female. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets. Human pregnancy is the most studied of all mammalian pregnancies. Obstetrics is the surgical field...
the unborn child is affected by many decisions his or her parents make, particularly choices linked to their
lifestyleLifestyle was originally coined by Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler in 1929. The current broader sense of the word dates from 1961.In sociology, a lifestyle is the way a person lives. A lifestyle is a characteristic bundle of behaviors that makes sense to both others and oneself in a given time...
. The health and diet decisions of the mother can have either a positive or negative impact on the child during
prenatal parentingPregnancy is the carrying of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, inside the uterus of a female. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets. Human pregnancy is the most studied of all mammalian pregnancies. Obstetrics is the surgical field...
.
Many people believe that parenting begins with birth, but the mother begins raising and nurturing a child well before birth.
Scientific evidence indicates that from the fifth month on, the unborn baby is able to hear sound, be aware of motion, and possibly exhibit
short-term memoryShort-term memory refers to the capacity for holding a small amount of information in mind in an active, readily available state for a short period of time. The duration of short-term memory is believed to be in the order of seconds...
. Several studies (e.g. Kissilevsky et al., 2003) show evidence that the unborn baby can become familiar with his or her parents' voices. Other research indicates that by the seventh month, external schedule cues influence the unborn baby's sleep habits. Based on this evidence, parenting actually begins well before birth.
Depending on how many children the mother carries also determines the amount of care needed during prenatal and post-natal periods.
Infants
Infant Parenting is where many of the responsibilities of parents begin. They need to attend to their infant's needs by providing special food, to adapt to the infant's erratic sleep cycle and to comfort their child at all times. Additionally, they should love their child constantly and become very sensitive to anything that scares the infant or makes it sad. Mothers should breast feed their infants at this stage if they can, and sufficient exposure to language will be important for the infant when it begins speaking later on.
Toddlerhood
When the infant becomes a
toddlerA toddler is a young child who is of the age of learning to walk, between infancy and childhood. Toddling usually begins between the ages of twelve months and twenty four months...
, (generally 1 year after birth) the parents must begin to provide basic training of different types. Of the skills the child learns at this stage, many of them are motor skills and coordination. The child must learn to crawl, sit up, and eventually walk. They must develop their hand-eye coordination from pre-basic levels to higher levels of sophistication. Most speaking ability also develops at this stage, and parents must encourage lingual development by attempting to talk with the child, get them to understand basic gestures and emotional displays, and in most developed countries, eventually teach them to read and write. (This skill overlaps with the next stage of development.)
As the child develops and they learn to speak and move on their own, their curiosity sometimes "drives them like a motor." They will be able to crawl off staircases and swallow dangerous objects all on their own at this point, and parents will have to protect their child by protecting them, and in turn, showing them how some things (swallowing objects, falling off stairs) are dangerous.
Child
Parents are expected to make important decisions about
preschool educationPreschool education is the provision of education for children before the commencement of statutory education, usually between the ages of three and five, dependent on the jurisdiction. Preschool is also known as nursery school, day care or kindergarten....
and
early childhood educationEarly childhood education regards education in early childhood, one of the most vulnerable stages in life. According to the NAEYC , it spans the human life from birth to age eight.-Similar terms:...
. Parents have to love and care for their preschoolers doing all that they can to keep them safe. It is important not to keep things laying around that is dangerous to small children and items that say keep out of reach of children. Children at this age are very likely to put things in their mouths and eat and drink things that are dangerous to their health.
Adolescents
During
adolescenceAdolescence Adolescence Adolescence (lat adolescere, (to grow) is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development that occurs between childhood and adulthood. This transition involves biological (i.e. pubertal), social, and psychological changes, though the biological or...
children are beginning to form their
identityIdentity is an umbrella term used throughout the social sciences to describe an individual's comprehension of him or herself as a discrete, separate entity. This term, though generic, can be further specified by the disciplines of psychology and sociology, including the two forms of social psychology...
and are testing and developing the interpersonal and occupational roles that they will assume as adults. Although adolescents look to
peerA peer group is a social group consisting of people who are equal in such respects as age, education or social class. Members of a particular peer group often have similar interests and backgrounds...
s and adults outside of the family for guidance and models for how to behave, parents remain influential in their development. Parents often feel isolated and alone in parenting adolescents, but they should still make efforts to be aware of their adolescents activities, provide guidance, direction, and consultation. Adolescence can be a time of high
riskRisk is a concept that denotes the precise probability of specific eventualities. Technically, the notion of risk is independent from the notion of value and, as such, eventualities may have both beneficial and adverse consequences...
for children, where newfound freedoms can result in decisions that drastically open up or close off life opportunities. Parental issues at this stage of parenting include dealing with "rebellious" teenagers, who didn't know freedom while they were smaller.
Adults
- Young adults – as children become young adults their personalities show the result
A result is the final consequence of a sequence of actions or events expressed qualitatively or quantitatively. Possible results include advantage, disadvantage, gain, injury, loss, value and victory. There may be a range of possible outcomes associated with an event depending on the point of...
of successful or unsuccessful parenting. Especially it is noticeable when young adults make their independent life decisions about their educationEducation in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual...
, workWage labour is the socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer in which the worker sells their labour under a contract , and the employer buys it, often in a labour market.It is the effort that people devote to a task for which they are paid The products of labour become the...
and choosing mates for friendshipFriendship is the cooperative and supportive relationship between two or more people. In this sense, the term connotes a relationship which involves mutual knowledge, esteem, affection, and respect along with a degree of rendering service to friends in times of need or crisis...
or marriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
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- Middle age and old age – Parenting doesn't stop when children grow up and age. Parents always remain to be parents for old children. Their relationship continues developing if both parties want to keep it or improve. The parenting issues may include the relationship with grandchildren and stepchildren
Traditionally, a stepfamily is the family one acquires when a parent enters a new marriage, whether the parent was widowed or divorced. For example, if one's father dies and one's mother marries another man, the new man is one's stepfather and vice versa...
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Assistance
Parents may receive assistance from a variety of individuals and organizations. Employers may offer specific benefits or programs for parents. Another source of assistance is other parents. Using the advice of other parents is sometimes the best advice due to the fact that some have lived through exactly what you are experiencing
See also