Since the beginning of the history of humanity, people relied heavily on their families for support and kinship system for survival. This dependence permitted and required that they conform to expected family roles depending on their living circumstances. This gave a family strong control over its members, a situation that is changing in the modern world because people no longer constantly need families for economic and emotional sustainability.
A Jewish proverb says, “God could not be everywhere and therefore He made mothers.” These words have been a strong statement in our society and greatly highlight the importance of mothers in the nurturing and caring for their children. The first role of mothers is that they act as an emotional support. Studies show that when a child faces emotional issues and difficulties, mothers offer a better listening ear and can offer better feedback pertaining to the child’s emotional needs. Mothers are important in providing emotional support to children especially those of ages below six, assuring them that there is someone there to help and also to assist them in their difficulties. Children also find it easier to express their thoughts to their mothers because they feel more assured.
They also take up the responsibility of providing guidance to the other family members. This is especially so to the fathers. Mothers help to reinforce the roles of fathers by underlining their duties in the family. As the saying goes, behind each great man is a great wife. This very much shows the importance of women in affirming the men of their responsibilities. Men become the best they can be only with the support and encouragement of women.
Therefore, parental roles do not reside only to the maternal. Fathers, too, play an important and significant role in the upbringing of child. They are often seen as the protectors, breadwinners and enforcers. These are the qualities and characteristics of fathers perceived by the society which is required of a father. As protectors, fathers are assumed to ensure the security of their family. This is commonly seen in the world even in the animal kingdom. In the past, fathers as the male head of the family had a duty to make sure the family is safe from harm. In the recent years, fathers do likewise with the addition of providing financial security.
One of the most important ways a father influences that environment is in his interaction with his children's mother. This is because the relationships which children observe and experience at an early age influence their own relationships later in life. It is also because family relationships are interrelated-the way that mothers and fathers interact affects the mother-child relationship as well as the father-child relationship. Because of this interrelatedness, parents who have a strong and happy relationship have a head-start to being good parents.
Parents are one of the biggest factors affecting the child’s attitude and behaviour. One of the main ways that parents affect how students behave is through direct interaction. For example, a mother praises a 3-year-old for eating properly, a father threatens the loss of a privilege because a child refuses to go to bed, and a parent names an unfamiliar animal in a picture book. These everyday events that involve the rewarding of desirable actions, the punishment of undesired ones, and the transfer of knowledge from parent to child have a collective effect.
Parents need to fully express their love and concern in order to expect the same treatment from their children. In the modern society, parents see material incentives as a way to express their love and this leads to children not being able to experience parental concern. Children thus, feel deprived of family love and may in turn attempt to seek attention by committing certain acts. Therefore parents need to understand that money is not equivalent to love.
Finally, the child will look up to his/her parents as role models. Studies show that children imitate what the adults do and consequently it is imperative that parents set a good example to the children. This is so that the children may better imitate and learn the good qualities and the parent. Likewise, a parent who is a delinquent may induce and influence the child to exhibit similar traits and behaviour. From this we can see that parents can be a children’s inspiration also as when a child see that the parent is having a successful career he will strive to emulate and achieve the same kind of diligence and level of intelligence. This will ultimately lead to the child working hard to accomplish this aim.
According to a study done in recent years, the rate of divorce cases has been on a steady incline with financial problems being the main culprit. Divorced families leave children with higher rates of antisocial behaviour, aggression, anxiety, and school problems. However, many of the negative effects disappear when there is adequate supervision, income, and continuity in social networks. However in this can only be sufficiently provided when there is a complete family
In conclusion, the role of parents in families had remained roughly the same throughout history, which is to nurture and direct the young ones throughout the course of their lives. The laughter and joy of Children can bring a smile to any parent’s face. As the saying goes, “While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” For that reason it is crucial that parents should work hand in hand and together help shape the future of their children. After all, two heads are better than one, right?
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