Parenting is a skill every married couple should be strived to be good at if they wish to make their family life healthy and happy. Children who grew up with kind and compassionate but rational parents will have a balanced outlook and healthy perceptions in life. However, parenting is overlooked by many people who have children (including those who are planning to have children), believing that they have an innate capacity to raise kids perfectly on their own and that being a parent is easy and doesn’t require serious skills. Obviously, this is plain wrong and naïve. One major reason many parents mess their own family and hurt their children is that they do not take the word parenting so seriously, in a sense that they do not engage in serious discussions, formal or formal, about the issue. In many places and communities, there’s not much seminars and gatherings that tackle this issue for people to learn from each other.
In some states in the USA and Europe for example though, there are very few communities or small group of parents or individuals that are educating people about parenting while also advocating the importance of its awareness. There are facilities that provide people the skills they need and there are support groups that usually help individuals and families, within and outside the government organizations. Outside the government, there are groups that are composed of people who are advocating styles of parenting that are collectively called “alternative”. Well, this is only a label as an attempt to describe or define parenting styles that are not usual but it is really a compartmentalizing term because the truth is, there should be no one perfect style of parenting. Parenting throughout history has varied according to many factors and its context. In addition, again there is no really so-called “mainstream” way of parenting as the famous ones also differ from each other. That’s why these labels (alternative and mainstream parenting) should be given consideration.
However, there are parenting styles that bring harm to children. There are deeds or actions that are detrimental to kids such as physical punishments, verbalization and nagging, blaming, emotional and psychological abuse, etc. that many parents are unconsciously doing. That’s why in this current age we are living, given that time, trends, and technologies has been so very different today compared to the ones we had decades ago, parents need to hear different ideas that have worked well through the years and those that are still working today. Through sustaining and developing these styles, we can confidently come up with positive parenting ideas that will adapt the future generation.
Talking about these ideas, here are some websites/programs you might want to check where you can learn, share, and even ask for services if necessary. Some also provide important resources you can use at home such as books etc.
Positive Discipline
This group has a parenting program called “Positive Discipline” that helps young people to learn how to be a “responsible, respectful, and resourceful members of their communities”. The ideas here are based on the books written by Dr. Jane Nelsen. It teaches and encourages life and social skills to both parents and children in a respectful manner. It teaches parents how to be kind but firm at the same time, allowing a healthy connection which supports the child’s sense of self-worth.
Website: https://www.positivediscipline.com/parents
Positive Parenting
This website by Debbie Godfrey (a mother, an author, and a Certified Parent Educator) promotes another kind of positive parenting based on the supposition that children are inherently good and unselfish. Because of this, they believe that parents can teach and discipline their children without breaking their spirit; understanding their nature and misbehavior while also correcting it through supporting factors that could help their growth. According to their statement, “Positive Parenting teaches discipline that builds your children’s self-esteem, while at the same time correcting their misbehavior. With a relationship built on trust and mutual respect, you will retain a positive influence with your children through their teen years and into adulthood”.
Website: https://positiveparenting.com/
Aha Parenting
This is by Dr. Laura Markham, a trained clinical psychologist at Columbia University who is also a parent who uses proven science to come up with practical solutions for family and parenting issues. She wrote three best-selling books about parenting and through her talks and presentations about these books, Dr. Markham has been featured in many famous mainstream media companies. This website offers many kinds of media for parents such as audios, videos, and ebooks. If you want to learn more about her parenting ideas or read articles, listen to podcasts, or catch up with her many projects, visit the website.
Website: https://www.ahaparenting.com/
Featured Photo: udemy.com/law-of-attraction-parenting/
