Child rearing plays a significant role in the all-round
development of children. Studies indicate that the development of the 'whole'
child- - -physical, mental and emotional, is generally influenced by a wide
range of factors. However, most of these influences revolve around parent's
personalities, lifestyle, attitudes and values. A balanced combination of these
could have a direct bearing on the child's adult years.
Experts in the field
strongly suggest that all well-meaning parents focus on all of the multiple
factors that influence child rearing. Factors like race, religion, culture,
genetics, education, environment, economic status and patterns of
socialization, can all influence the process of child rearing and have a
deep-rooted lifetime impact on children's lives.
To better understand the full impact of factors that
influence child rearing, the writer encourages you to read on:
- Family has the
most powerful influence on child rearing. The values ingrained, the habits
formed and the quality of communication between family members can play a
critical role in the early formative years of child development. Indeed, family
upbringing could have a lifelong impact on an individual. A lot also depends on
how the parents themselves were raised. Parents, who are the product of broken
or abusive homes, may not be in a position to make a positive contribution to
the entire child rearing process. In such a scenario, parents could have
negative influence wherein children could suffer from neglect, abuse or plain
indifference.
- Social factors do
play a prominent role in influencing the child rearing process. Communities,
religious and social groups, social norms of behavior and etiquette influence
parenting styles and motivate parents to interact with children in different
ways. The social status of parents can also influence their child rearing
style. Parental aspirations for children may largely be dependent on the
families they periodically socialize with. For example, children from families
who own fancy cars and latest tech gadgets expect many more good things from
life than their less affluent counterparts.
- Economic
background does have a large influence on child-rearing. It has been found that
the quality of child rearing could be negatively affected where parents have to
struggle to make ends meet. Although most parents may be able to provide the
basic needs to their children, providing quality health care, better schools
and homes and other upscale amenities, are all possible by those parents who
have a high spending power. It is these parents who tend to offer their
children quality extracurricular activities like taking expensive music lessons, art classes or
special coaching classes in sports.
- Educational
background of parents also influences the direction which child rearing takes.
Highly educated parents tend to focus more on providing the best possible
education to their children than parents who are uneducated. Educated parents
understand the importance of education and spare no expense in enrolling their
children into prestigious schools and colleges. They also take time to actively
monitor and guide their children in the pursuit of their academic goals.
- Conclusion
Although all the above enumerated factors influence the
child rearing practices, psychologists strongly believe that every parent can
yield the most profound influence on their children's lives. It is they, who
have the unique privilege and responsibility of raising children to become
successful adults. It is their vision, interest and time, their determination
and their loving guidance that can make it possible for parents despite their
circumstances, to raise responsible, productive and well-adjusted children.
