Parenting

I wanted to start this post with a couple of questions. What is the purpose of parenting? Is there more than one purpose? Who is affected by parenting? I asked my sister this question because she has two kids and she said one of the purposes of parenting is to help them prepare for their future. In my opinion, one of the purposes of parenting is to help children understand how to learn and grow. I believe that there are many other purposes to parenting as well. Parenting is more than just teaching your children. It is showing unconditional love and trying your best to establish a healthy relationship with them. What are some of your thoughts? I think everyone of us is affected by parenting, no matter if you’re in the family or not, whether you are the parent or not. Everyone is affected because parenting is such a big part of our lives that we ourselves can posses those parenting values and everything else that comes with parenting. We take with us the things we learn from our parents throughout our lives.

            I also wanted to share the effects of parenting through the child’s mistaken approach, the child’s need, and the parental approach. First, the child can show under attention seeking, rebellion, control of others, and even revenge. The child’s need includes; contact belonging, challenge, power, protection, and withdrawal. The parental approach includes; offering contact freely, teaching to contribution, chores, consequences, assertiveness, and forgiveness. I loved learning about this in class because it helped me be aware of these things as I plan on approaching parenting in the future.

            I wanted to share a quote from President Thomas S. Monson. He said, "To you who are parents, I say, show love to your children. You know you love them, but make certain they know it as well. They are so precious. Let them know. Call upon Heavenly Father for help as you care for their needs each day as you deal with challenges which inevitably come with parenthood. You need more than your own wisdom in rearing them." Even though I don’t have kids, I love this quote because it is the duty as parents to love and care for their children. With that being said, how can we determine the best ways in which to approach parenting challenges and opportunities? For me personally, I am a religious person and from what I believe, it is important that we approach parenting challenges and opportunities with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I think we should strive to approach these things as the Savior would. When I become a parent, I want to be able to share that Christ-like love to my children and show them that they can always come to me for anything. I want my children to feel that they can be open with me. This is important to me because I know that they can learn so much from themselves, from me, and from what they are going through at the moment.

            Growing up, I was blessed with wonderful parents. They taught me so many things that has always stuck with me. I owe my parents everything because they really knew what was best for me. From their parenting styles, I’ve learned that it is important to share unconditional love towards anyone you come in contact with and always strive to be a good example. There are many other things that I’ve learned from them growing up and there are still things that I continue to learn from them. I will always be grateful for that.