Friday, March 31, 2017

Parenting

Child: It's hard to be a parent, yes, we acknowledge that.

Parent: It's hard to be a kid, yes, they know that too.

Child: Parents always envision mini replicas of themselves on us, hoping that someday sometime, we would live up to what they want us to be. Yet, we are not. We are unique individuals, of different minds and bodies; we have differing aspirations.

Parent: Our children are not listening to us; they think we are always nagging at them. Why can't they just understand that we only want them to be the best and doing well is for their own sake? We've led hard lives and understood that hard work pays off eventually. We never ever want our children to stay up late nor be outside for too long.

Child: They just don't understand, don't they? Times have changed - no longer is hard work associated to having a good comfortable life; the equations to success just doesn't match up. There are now many different ways to achieve something; it's not always the direct route that nets success. Yes, we stay up late but we are ultimately adolescents - there's bound to be festering bubbling energy within us. No, we do not loiter outside just to make you worry about us - we can handle ourselves. "Smoking is bad. Don't join gangs. Avoid fights" We know all these, so please stop nagging.

We are good children. We just want you to see that.

Parent: Our parents have led tough lives, they treated us harshly but we know it's for our own good. We must in turn provide the best education for our children, inculcate the ideal values into our children and mould them into responsible leaders of tomorrow. They do not know how much we care for them, for we ourselves only learn to cherish our parents after they are gone. So yes, we will keep scolding. Yes, we will keep nagging.

We are good parents. We just want you to see that.
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Ever wondered whether there is a perfect set of parenting techniques? The answer is no.

Because every child is different. Likewise, every parent is different too. The parenting style cannot simply be adopted from our past; we live in the present, therefore the parenting style has to adapt to suit the child too. If either the child or the parent does not communicate, how are they to know if they have each other's interests at heart?

I believe there are situations to use "rightfully wrong" or "wrongfully right". Parents and their children can be both wrong yet right in their own aspects. Anger should almost never be shown to each other; it is an emotion, not an action. So don't release your anger, curb it, cool it down, explain rationally. Afterall, anger reduces your lifespan.