Is There A ‘Better Way’ to Raise Your Child?
The debate today about the choice to shelter or empower your children can confuse parents. Many parents are choosing redirection over consequence. Traditional tactics are becoming less popular and new direction is everywhere you look. Should we be making a choice on the proper way to raise our children?
An anonymous tweeter recently wrote, “There’s nothing like real, breathing children
to make you realize all the parenting philosophies are bogus.” (1). Enter the word ‘Parent’ as a Google Search and you’ll discover there are 695,000,000 results. That’s a lot of reading for those of us looking for an absolute. Its exhausting as a parent to keep up, especially with the pressure we’ve put on each other in recent years. Can we really decide the best way to potty train on our child on our own? Can we, for once, not call the Pediatrician for advice we already know? Can we let go of our inhibitions to be the best parent and just be a parent? By far the article that exceeded my expectations on parenting advice was, “Just Parent, No Philosophy Required,” by Dr. Harley Rotbart. Harley, points out that although there are many paths to choose to raise your child none of the paths are the perfect path for every child.
The fact that a parent is concerned enough to consider how their actions will impact their child’s life already proves that they will be taking an active roll in child rearing. A great 17th century Poet, John Wilmont, once wrote, ‘Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children. Now I have six children and no theories.” The truth of the matter is their are no specific right or wrong ways to raise your children. Each of us have different circumstances.
We are different people and we have different goals in life. Chances are if you’ve spent this much time researching options your off to a great start.
Sources:
1. https://twitter.com/#!/search/parent%20parenting
2. Rotbart, Harley. “Parenting, Children and Parents – Motherlode Blog – NYTimes.com.” Parenting, Children and Parents –
Motherlode Blog – NYTimes.com. New York Times, 18 Apr. 2012. Web. 20 July 2012.
<http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/just-parent-no-philosophy-required/#postComment>.
