Responsible Parenthood
INTRODUCTION
One of the hardest tasks to achieve is to have a good and consistent parenting style. The
question is how do parents behave when raising children? The answer is that they are
modelling the behavior of their own parents, having learned how to “parent” in the course of
being parented. Another way of behaving according with information about appropriate
parenting that can be acquired through books, web sites, or through advices. Feelings, thoughts
and beliefs have a powerful impact on behavior. The child-parent relationship has a major
influence on most aspects of child development. When optimal, parenting skills and behaviors
have a positive impact on children’s self-esteem, school achievement, cognitive development
and behavior. There are also instances of bad parenting that can have a lasting consequences
on children. Every infant is born into some kind of family-whether an extended family of several
generations living togheter, a nuclear family of parents and children, or single-parent family.
Every family lives in a neighborhood, and is a part of larger social and cultural context. This
context is for sure specific for each child and family. In each of these setting, children enter a
way of life influenced by culture, class, geography, and ethnicity. All this elements of social
context will forcefully shape children’s lives, often even before birth.
Consequences to the children of a responsible parent:
Good parenting involves a great deal of consistency and routine, which gives children a sense
of control. Good parenting focuses on developing independence in children, so redundancy
becomes the aim for parents.
The importance of a responsible parent promotes the child's mental, linguistic and emotional
development. A responsible parent also helps the child exhibit optimistic and confident social
behaviors.
The responsible parent has a important role in child's life, these role is to provide
encouragement, support, and access to activities that anable the child to master key
development task. A parent is their child's first teacher and should remain their best teacher
throughout life.
How does responsible parent affect a child's physical health?
It helps the child avoid risky behaviors. It makes the child less likely to get sick. It also gives the
child opportunities for exercise.
CONSEQUENCES TO THE CHILDREN OF A IRRESPONSIBLE PARENT:
It is every parents dream to have his or her child grow up into a responsible person. Even
though every parent wishes the best for his or her child, at times bad parenting gets in the way
of achieving this. Bad parenting has lots of negative effects in the life of your child. It is therefore
important for each and every parent to evaluate his or her parenting skills so as to know the
effects of such parenting on the child. Here are some of the consequences to the children of
having a irresponsible parent:
*INABILITY TO HAVE LONG LASTING FRIENDSHIPS AND RELATIONSHIPS
This mostly happens when the child is not reprimanded or punished for the mistakes they make.
The child therefore grows up knowing that he or she is in control and is ever right. He or she
becomes a spoilt child who believes that he or she must always have their way in everything.
This has negative effects on the relationships that the child gets into.
*BAD PARENTING CAN ALSO CAUSE PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS TO A CHILD.
This happens especially of the child grows up in a family where there is a lot of abuse whether
physical or emotional. This also occurs when a child suffers from neglect as a child. Such
children may have difficulty in making friend and trusting people as they find it easier to push
people away than to open up.
*Poor Resilience
Resilience refers to a person’s ability to cope with social, emotional, behavioral, physical and
educational hardships. Parents with poor resilience are more likely to have children who also
lack resilience, according to Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Bad parenting in this regard comes
in the form of failing to buffer the adverse affects of crisis that a child experiences, not teaching
a child coping skills and not being responsive during a time of need.
Inconsistent disciplinary approaches, poor supervision and physical punishment are poor
parenting attributes that can negatively affect children, regardless of their ethnicity and
socioeconomic status.
