PARENTING STYLESJose J. Aguirre

ECE 355: Understanding Behaviors and Family Dynamics

Shealiah Jordan

INTRODUCTION

• Many parents wish that their children would come with a manual on how to raised them properly.

• There are four main types of parenting: Authoritarian, Authoritative, Uninvolved and Permissive.

• It is incredibly important for the parents to understand that every decision they make regarding the style they choose to raised their kids will have an effect on the way their children will be raised.

POSITIVE PARENTING

• “Positive Parenting is a belief, a way of living. We believe children should be treated with respect, free from fear of violence and shame, and guided with loving encouragement” (Positive-Parents, 2011).

• Secure attachments between parents and children

• Their brain are not fully mature until children reach their 20’s

• “Children are not biologically capable of understanding and following all of our rules. Most times, misbehavior is NOT a matter of defiance, but of cognitive ability” (Positive-Parents, 2011).

POSITIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF MOTHERING AND FATHERING

• Empathy, love and patience are three positive characteristics of mothering.

• Positive discipline, open mind and leading by example are some positive characteristics of fathering.

TODDLER’S ACTIONS

• During toddler’s stage, kids will need guidance. Two of their main action would be temper tantrums and potty training.

• Parents should provide a fun, consistent routine to ensure fewer frustrations and make the experience positive

• During potty training parents have to be aware that accidents will happen so be prepare to counter them.

PARTNERS FOR FRAGILE FAMILIES (PFF)

• “Refers to unmarried parents and their children as "fragile families" to underscore that they are families and that they are at greater risk of breaking up and living in poverty than more traditional families” (Fragile Families, 2014).

• Design to find out the conditions/capabilities of unmarried parents.

• The type of relationship the unmarried parents carry.

• How well the children born into this families do.

ADOLESCENCE ISSUES

• “Bullying among middle-school youth and adolescents has become a serious problem in American schools” (Copeland, 2013).

• It is a good idea to talk to the children about what bullying is and what your concerns as a parent may be.

• Teach your children respect and tolerance. Let them know it is not ok to just sit back and let it happen. Talk to them about getting teachers or adults involve as soon as they witness something.

FIGHTING BULLYING

• Help your children understand what bullying is and how to get help to stop it.

• Keep the communications open with your children. Make sure your kids feel comfortable approaching you regarding their issues.

• Explain to them that bullying can happen not just in person, but over the web as well. Cyberbullying is very common and most adolescences do not actually realize that they have done it before by calling classmates or other kids names.

• Explain how their actions may affect the way the victim feels and what he/she might be tempted to do if the harassment does not stop.

• Explain also what the bully may be facing too. One never knows, perhaps the reason that he shows so much hostility towards a fellow classmate is because he is living in a negative family environment.

POVERTY & FAMILIES

• Poor children are two times more likely than non poor children to have stunted growth, iron deficiency, and severe asthma.

• Children who live in poverty, have a chance of them falling behind a grade level by age 18.

• Lower-class parents look at their children's behavior with a focus on its immediate consequences and its external characteristics, whereas middle-class parents explore their children's motives and the attitudes expressed by their behavior.

• Parenting styles reflect aspects of parents’ work life.

• Lower income parents may encounter anxiety, depression and irritability. This strain of poverty may promote the use of disciplinary approaches.

DIVORCE

• Divorce is becoming more common within the United States. This process tends to affect how the child deals with everyday life.

• One of the main effects that divorce has on children is poor social skills. “A 2011 study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that children of divorced parents often fall behind their classmates in math and social skills, and are more likely to suffer anxiety, stress, and low self-esteem” (Hansen, 2013).

• Parents can prevent this particular effect from happening simply by speaking with their children and not making them feel responsible for the divorce

• Another effect that divorce has in children is that they are more likely to participate in illegal activity.

• This can be prevented simply by not using the kids to cover their actions and having a consistent parenting style between the divorce parents.

A WELL BALANCED LIFE

• Two simple strategies to balance work, family and parenting are building a support group and be flexible.

• Be open to asking and accepting help when need it. Get friends, family members, neighbors, etc. to join you and always have a back up plan for any emergency that may occur.

• Start by understanding that with children things change within a moments notice. Don’t be to hard on yourself when things don’t get done.

• Having a well balanced life will give the child structure and stable foundation.

• A well balanced life will give the parents enough free time to spend quality time with their children and create a positive family environment.

DISABILITIES

• “Down syndrome occurs when an individual has a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21. This additional genetic material alters the course of development and causes the characteristics associated with Down syndrome. A few of the common physical traits of Down syndrome are low muscle tone, small stature, an upward slant to the eyes, and a single deep crease across the center of the palm - although each person with Down syndrome is a unique individual and may possess these characteristics to different degrees, or not at all” (NDSS, 2014).

• Parents can always be supportive of their children by simply giving them a sense of a normal life. Parents also need to keep themselves informed of what down syndrome is and what kind of support they can get.

CHILDCARE

• Childcare is very important in a child’s life. For most children, it is the first time they can work in their socio skills.

• My childcare facility is NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) and state approved.

• We have performed extensive background checks on every single person we employ

• We have an open door policy.

• We have certified teachers leading the classes.

• Curriculum is age-appropriate.

CONCLUSION

• There is so much we need to know before deciding to become parents. There are many different thing that affects how each parent runs his/her home.

• As teachers, we need to keep ourselves well informed of all the different family dynamics so that we can make sure we give each child the very possible opportunity.

• We have to be ready and aware that there are those raising children who are not necessarily biological parents like adopting and foster.

• With everything that happens in our life, we as teachers need to be able to help not only our students, but their parents as well.

REFERENCES

• Copeland, R. (11/26/2013). Positive Parenting: Steps to Being a Better Parent. http://prezi.com/-vzoetqp-6gv/positive-parenting-steps-to-being-a- better-parent/

• Driscoll, A. & Nagel, N. G. (2010). Poverty and the Effects on Children and Parents.

http://www.education.com/reference/article/poverty-effects-children-parents/

• Fragile Families. (2014). Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study.

http://www.fragilefamilies.princeton.edu/index.asp

• Hansen, L. (2013). 9 Negative Effects Divorce Reportedly has on Children.

http://theweek.com/article/index/242059/9-negative-effects-divorce-reportedly-has-on- children

• NDSS. (2014). What is Down Syndrome? http://www.ndss.org/Down-Syndrome/What-Is-

Down-Syndrome/

REFERENCE

• Ontai, L., Mastergeorge, A. (n.d.). Culture and parenting: A Guide for

delivering parenting curriculums to diverse families. Retrieved from http://www.projectabc- la.org/dl/culture_and_parenting.pdf

• Positive-Parents. (06/16/2011). Positive Parenting: What is it? Why do it? But how? http://www.positive-parents.org/2011/06/positive-parenting-what-why- how_15.html

• Turner, P. & Welch, K. (2012). Parenting in contemporary society (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.