Parenting | Child Psychology | Pandemic

“One thing I had learned from watching chimpanzees with their infants is that having a child should be fun.” – Jane Goodall, an English Primatologist

Our society is familiar with tagging parenting as a pressure job. But this hullabaloo should neither get to you nor restrict you from embracing or appreciating the precious delights of parenthood. Keep reminding yourself that healthy and happy parents raise happy children.

Our children do not come with guidebooks or instruction manuals. So we, as parents, are often clueless about how to raise psychologically sound and well-rounded children. How well a child is doing academically, socially, or emotionally has a lot to do with how well the parents are doing.

You may be strict or lenient, observant or even distant; your parenting style will define your child’s psychology. If you have ever thought about which type of parent you want to be, you must be well-versed with various parenting styles. One important thing to accept on the onset is that our children are not our extensions or our mirrors but living, breathing, independent life forces to nurtured and enabled this will be possible only when we are informed and well prepared.

The Best Parenting Style

Out of the four, researchers suggest that “Authoritative Parenting” can be referred to as the best style because authoritative parents make way for socially competent, confident, and independent children. Having said that, there are times when these kids go through low self-esteem, relationship troubles, and psychological issues too. Parenting does not follow a ‘one-size-fits-all’ model. In fact, you are a successful parent only when you can gauge situations and change your style of parenting accordingly. If your child excels in academics, it's okay to be a permissive parent once in a while. Again, when your child’s safety is at stake, you should be an authoritarian parent too. Eventually, the aim should be to use your judgment to determine which parenting style works the best for your child and family in a particular situation.

Happy Parents Raise Happy Children

As parents, it is our responsibility to demonstrate the approach to a fulfilling and happy life to our little or not-so-little ones. We need to reflect on our behavior and actions to become the person we want our children to grow up as. It is not abnormal to make mistakes or lose calm or be vulnerable but what matters is how wholeheartedly we make an effort to be the examples for the kids to follow. You might say the most inspiring words or narrate a hundred stories to preen yourself; they will not reflect a thing unless your words match your actions. Children do not listen but watch. Your lifestyle will be their lifestyle. Your way of living and parenting will shape your child’s innermost core and become the cornerstone of their lives.

Raising Psychologically Sound Children

Every child is blessed with some potential and has a distinctive mission. For a sapling to grow, its parents’ trust is paramount. Not every child starts showing their potential around one particular age; some are earlier while others lag a little behind. But what’s vital in both cases is unwavering support and steady encouragement from the parents’ end. Their belief and cooperation will help the sapling grow in time. Having a positive and constructive relationship with your children, having transparent interactions with them, encouraging them to connect with society, helping them recognize and name their emotions, and so on contributes to raising psychologically sound children.

Parenting In Pandemic

One of the prime concerns throughout the pandemic had been its impact on the children and their psyche. School closures had a huge impact on the holistic development of the young ones. The pandemic had over-burdened the parents as well. Probably for many, it was the first time that they had to balance work and personal lives together and raise children too. But as parents, we had to tackle the high-stress levels for the sake of our children, pay the best possible attention, and ensure that their psychological well-being doesn’t go for a toss. Only a psychologically sound set of parents can have psychologically sound children, and so it was and is still necessary to sensitize the parents on certain skills that ensure a safe and progressive environment amid pandemics.

Like Pandemic Even Parenting is a Phase

Challenges like working from home with kids can be virtuous for everybody. Your kids may acquire some trainings in unconventionality and unrestricted performance, and they’ll get to see a side of you that they may not have known earlier.

Working with your better half/partners or other family adherents to find ways to work together can toughen your bonds and improve communication.

Adapting to work in less-than-ideal environments helps you to be a more buoyant, flexible, inventive employee.