Mum & Dad: The Greatest Influence In The Life Of A Child (Part 1)

“Family,” the most important part of a person’s existence; mum & dad are the most influential people in the life of a child. It’s a given fact that the way a child is raised, determines what his/her future may turn out to be.

Being a parent is not an easy task at all, it wasn’t made to be easy in the first place, it’s why our parents get it wrong with us a lot of times. It takes wisdom to be a good parent and to be of a positive influence to the life of a child, and  still be the source of strength and wisdom to the child, even when they become adults. Parenthood may be fun, but quickly becomes overwhelming with time. The easy days of parenthood are; the period when you can tell a child to sit somewhere for a minute, and they’ll obey; the period you are allowed by law and by right, to dictate what a child would eat, where they would go and where they mustn’t go; the period you can dictate their bedtime and when it’s time to wake up; the period you can scream at them to instill fear in them (which by the way, if done too much, will turn them into zombies or rebels as time goes on); the period you can influence whom they can or cannot mingle with. But there comes a stage, when a parent must apply caution in their utterances and in their actions;  the stage the child adopts habits and attitudes, mostly from their environment, and in the home.

The parents, however, are the first influence a child has, until they start making friends with other people, and they start keeping secrets; this is when parents get it wrong with their children mostly. They expect the child to remain submissive and open with them, to tell them everything that goes on in their lives and to seek their opinions and advise on everything; academically, socially and in some ways, they want to keep influencing their thoughts as well; and many parents would be more abusive, than supportive, in other to gain the child’s trust and confidence, in them as parents. Many parents would rather beat or curse their child, and thereby, inflicting some pain in their hearts, just to get them to be smart; an act that they live to regret in time, when the child knows nothing but violence and abuse as a form of training.

Is child abuse and emotional mistreatment the best form of child training and development? What are the implications of this training to the future of the child? These and many more to be continued in the next part(s) of this topic…. *Feel free to give your own insights to this, as your opinion will be mentioned in the following parts of the topic*

Related articles

• Violence of any kind against any child is wrong, unacceptable and inexcusable (dailyrecord.co.uk)
• The Zen of Parenthood (psychologytoday.com)
• Do therapists tell parents what kids say? (counselorssoapbox.com)
• A Prayer for all our Parents (mithasam.wordpress.com)