Human Development

Parenthood

Description:
Although primarily a relationship through procreation, one can also be a parent through adoption, through marriage to a partner already having children or, in the widest sense, by assuming the relationship of parent to anyone younger (whether physically or spiritually) than one's self.
Parenting implies both care and nurture on the one hand, and discipline and the setting of limits on the other. Thus it contributes to the psychosocial and to the spiritual development of the child. It fosters a sense of individual self-worth in the framework of inter-personal responsibility. Where parenthood is not undertaken in the right way then the result may be physical or psychological abuse, failure to set or enforce limits (a mistaken idea of what it means to love), or rigid division of love from authority (perhaps on lines of gender).
Parents provide a role model for children and educate them in social skills. Over-identification here may lead to parents trying to live through the lives of their children or demanding from them an unrealistic perfection. Parents also, in their role of developing a family to act as a social unit, develop a feeling of personal allegiance in their children and assign tasks to the children in the family context. As a bridge between the family and the rest of the world they develop social responsibility and foster explicit recognition of the family's interdependence with other families and communities. It is the parents who provide love and support in times of failure. Conversely, bad parenting may include neglected responsibilities, the encouragement of isolationism (thus abusing loyalty), and refusal to admit to their own or their children's errors.
Particularly in a multicultural society or one which rejects religion, conflicts and confusion arise as to what constitutes good family life. It may eventually be seen as an arbitrary matter or one for individual decision. A number of major influences are at work here: the theories of experts (which may be conflicting and which certainly change with time); diversity of religious tradition; demands of popular culture; the upbringing received by the parents themselves; the attitudes of parents' and children's peer groups. These issues have to be addressed in the light of belief and experience.
Related:
Family life