To deal with increasing generation gap problem, it is important to ensure that parents adopt the most effective parenting technique. In 21 century both the parents are working and thus finding a balance between work-life gets difficult. As a result, many parents today complain that their child has behavioural issues, neither listen nor obeys and find it difficult to handle the child.
In today’s scenario, it is very important for parents to ensure that a friendly relationship is established between them. Since globalization and western culture getting in, there is a greater exposure for children. Many times we see that due to the communication gap between the parent and child, the child tends to find ways to fill that void which can many times turn that the child suffers from the behavioural problem and doesn’t obey you. The simple reason is that the child doesn’t connect with you and feels lost. Each and every family is different and the style undertaken by the parent varies across cultures and situations.
There are 4 major parenting styles.
- Authoritarian
- Authoritative
- Permission
- Un-involved
These styles differ from each other on the 3 levels which are Autonomy, Acceptance and Behavior. Moving on to which one is the most widely accepted. Authoritative is the most common and accepted parenting styles which offer a better relationship between parent and children. Research suggests that the most competent children are actually brought up by authoritative parents. Parenting style has been found to predict child well-being in a number of areas, including social skills, academic performance, and the degree of problem behaviour. The Authoritarian, Permissive, and Un-involved styles can carry a high cost.
While parenting two important aspects come into play. First one is the style undertaken by the parents and the other one is what the parents actually communicate. While parenting the sole purpose is the well-being of the child. By focusing on 5 elements the parent can help the child become positive and to ensure that they grow up with enough confidence to believe in themselves.
- Emotional Growth
Emotions tend to affect each one of us in a variety of different ways. Research shows that children with high EQ tend to perform better and are more likely to succeed as compared to people with high IQ. Keeping aside the individual differences, parents should be understanding and try to emotionally connect with the child. It is also believed that children who have authoritative parents tend to be emotionally more adjusted along with the habit of positive reinforcement. It is very essential for parents to spend quality time with children rather than quantity of time.
- Physical Growth
It is the responsibility of the parent to take care of the needs of the child that will help them grow physically and ensure that they will turn out to be physically strong. Feeding right amount balance diet and ensuring sleeping on time and regular exercise regime is essential.
- Intellectual Growth
The parent should focus on the intellectual stimulation of the child and take small steps from their side. The basic example can be inculcating the habit of reading in the child, engage in puzzle activities, getting a child involved in some sport. The parent should ensure to be an equal part of the play date with the child.
- Social Growth
It is important to understand the effect of friends on the child. As the child grows the friends become the most important part of his or her life. It is essential to realize that how the child will be influenced by them in long run. The parent should maintain friendly relationships with the child’s friend as they are the ones who will help and will come to his rescue.
- Spiritual Growth
In order to ensure that the child leads a peaceful and happy life. It is essential to help the child to learn the ways to meditate and develop strategies which will help to deal with tough times. With Hinduism as the most prominent form of religion in the Indian culture, many Indian families impart the importance of prayer and worship to their children. There is a strong emphasis on respect for elders in the Indian culture. Children typically grow up with their grandparents in the same household. Parents are more likely to induce these values when they themselves believe in it. Each family tends to have a different set of rituals and beliefs, thus helping a child to grow into a morally strong person can be the biggest achievement.
Parents should be the child’s best friends and should make all the efforts to do the same. Children tend to pick up every small and big habit of their parents, thus it is important for parents to take out time for their children from the busy schedule and focus on they can bring up a child who is will full of happiness and courage.