Raising a child is one of the hardest, most responsible and satisfying tasks a human being can face. It is also the job for which people receive the least formal training.
Each person's knowledge of how to bring up a child usually comes from their surroundings and their own upbringing. This may result in patterns from the parent's own social experiences being repeated and passed on to their children.
Parents are role models
Parents are the most influential role models children are likely to have. Parents who pay compliments and show respect, kindness, honesty, friendliness, hospitality and generosity to their children will encourage them to behave in the same way.
Parents should express their unconditional love for their children, as well as provide them with the continued support they need to become self-assured and happy.
It is also important that parents set reasonable expectations for their children and tell them in plain words what they expect from them.
The other day, I heard a mother say: “my son, who is five
years old, drinks five litres of milk a day.”
I asked her if there was some particular reason for this. She said
there wasn't. I then asked her why
her son would drink these five litres of milk, and she replied: “I
don't know why, he just does. Both our doctor, a specialist, and the
health visitor says he shouldn't do it. But we love him too much, so
we let him.” She was convinced
that it was out of love... read the rest of the article...
As parents we love our children and we have only got their best interests at heart. When children are smacked, it might be because it is considered to form part of the child's upbringing. It might be a natural thing for some parents to use physical punishment, whereas it is foreign to other parents' nature.
Hitting out might be the last resort and might be provoked by a busy or stressful situation, or maybe we hit the child in order to "tell" them who is in charge.. (more - read the complete article)
