Parenting

Chapter 1

Dimensions of Parenthood

Focus Questions

1. Why is it important to learn about parenting?

- Because it will help you to better understand why some strategies work and how to make your relationship with your children better. Not many people know what makes someone a good parent. That is why it is good to learn different ways of parenting.

2. What attributes describe the nature of parenthood?

- reproduction, parent’s responsibility for nurturing, teaching, and acting as guardians, to be a child’s principal teacher.

3. Why has the relationship between parents and children traditionally been viewed as unidirectional?

- Because of the biological basis upon which it is founded. It is considered to be a bastion of our culture, for society could not continue if new members were not produced and socialized. It states that children learn from their parents, but parents don’t learn from them.

How is this relationship seen differently today?

- It is viewed as bidirectional, because both adults and children influence one another.

4. How have our ideas about parenthood and childhood changed as a result of social evolution over

the years?

- The bond between parent and child has become stronger over time. There is more emphasis on the child’s needs than in earlier times. What the child needs and wants are very important to us, because we are more concerned now for their future.

5. What are six stages of parenthood?

- Image-making Stage, Nurturing Stage, Authority Stage, Interpretative Stage, Interdependent Stage, Departure Stage. (Pg.12-13)

6. What factors significantly influence the contexts of parenting behavior and parent-child relations?

- cultural influences, developmental time, primary parenting functions, family of origin influences, child influences, disciplinary approach, family ecological factors, attitudes about parenting.

Vocabulary

socialization - pg. 5 - learning how to conform to the conventional ways of behavior in society.

unidirectional model of socialization - pg. 6 - in this model, the relationship traditionally patterns the role of the adult as a teacher responsible for inculcating appropriate behavior patterns, values, and attitudes that prepare children for effective participation in society upon reaching maturity.

bidirectional