Parenting

According to Brooks (2012), Parenting or child rearing is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child aside from the biological relationship. 

What does this mean? Parents need to understand there`s alot more to parenting than child bearing. Parenting or lack of effective parenting can make or break a child`s future. I think parents need to be more cognizant of the aforementioned statement. We often hear "yuh could make ah child but yuh cyah make he mind". Whilst some aspects of this may be true, setting the foundation for your kids is important and detrimental to their life. 

Erikson (1963), stated that at each stage of a person`s life, they have a psychosocial task, a crisis that needs resolution. The following diagram will explain. 

This table shows each stage of development from infancy straight to late adulthood, and explains the issue we tend to struggle with most, at the given stage/ phase in our life. For further explanation you can check the link or comment for more info https://courses.lumenlearning.com/teachereducationx92x1/chapter/eriksons-stages-of-psychosocial-development/

Some useful tips for parenting now: 

1. Quality Time - As a family, always set aside time for your kids, no matter how small or how big you think they are. IT`s better to develop such relationship as a toddler so that when the child grows older, and peer pressure starts to kick in, the child or young adult can come to the parent for advice, as this is where the foundation would have been set. This can prevent alot of rebellion, abuse, and ensuring your child stays on the right path. The bible says "train up a child in the way he should go, so when he gets old he will not depart from it" This is a true statement. 
Another thing i recommend is sitting around the table for dinner and lunches. As simple as this sounds, it sets the parameters for family time. It fosters togetherness and helps keep families together.  

2. Leisure - Always set aside time to do fun things as a family. Whether it means a game of charades, a day at the park, or at the beach, a trip to the zoo, or even just a nice Sunday evening drive together. These help foster togetherness and creates a special bond amongst the parents and kids.  

3. Arguments - Now we`re not saying you wont have arguments, but never argue in front of your kids, even if you dont agree with the disciplinary measure one parent took against the child. Wait till after dinner or movies or whatever event it was, ensure your child is sound asleep and their door locked, then both parents go to their rooms, lock the door and discuss the issue. Do not quarrel loudly in your room either, as you never know when your child could wake and hear the noise, and decide to come listen by your door. Remember children practice what they see or hear within the home, and arguments can lead to violence or abuse. 

4. Discipline -  Be sure to enforce discipline. When a child does wrong, be sure to punish them, after the punishment, explain to the child what the punishment was for. As small as you think a child may be, children understand that actions have consequences. Likewise, when your child does something good, reward them so they feel a sense of appreciation, this will motivate them. A powerful theorist who spoke on Conditioning was 1. Ian Pavlov (Classical Conditioning ) and 2. B.F. Skinner (Operant Conditioning). Feel free to research them or comment and let me know and i will explain further if needed. 

5. Observe -  always pay attention to your kids. As a parent you should know the regular behavior patterns of your child. Thus if something is wrong, sometimes children may be afraid to speak out, but by you always paying attention, you would know when something is wrong with your child, and be able to address the issue before it becomes worse.