Parent Interview - Research Paper Example

? PSYCH 231 Parent Interview Use the following questions in the interview, and present three more questions that are informative and of a particular interest to you: 1. How old is your child/children? My children, Deborah-Anne and D’Shawn (DJ) are 13 and 15 years old respectively. 2. How is adolescence different from the elementary school years for your child? What changes have you seen in them? They’re calmer. Responsibility has increased by learning and they have got to work for it. Deborah has gotten more of an attitude and high strung and high maintenance. Deborah has a high attitude and strung though she exhibits a high aspect of maintenance. 3. How has your relationship changed since your child has entered adolescence? Give examples of how this has changed. DJ has gotten sneakier and has premeditated motives whereas Deborah who was sweet as a child now seems to be always up to something. 4. What are some boundaries and rules you have set up for your teen? What do you do if they break or a rule or disrespect a boundary? There are curfews set for the teens. DJ has no bedtime unless his grade slips. Deborah’s bedtime is at 10pm. No bedtime limits while in high school. Deborah is not allowed to go out alone until she reaches high school. She is currently in middle school. DJ is allowed to go out alone because he’s in high school. Deborah likes to watch weird shows and she cannot continue watching them if she misbehaves. DJ is in solitude (grounded) if he break’s a rule. They got to have C’s or better in their honors classes. 5. Is your teen involved in a romantic relationship? Do they go on dates? What do the dates consist of? Deborah is not allowed to Date. DJ is only allowed to go on group dates, not one on one date’s. 6. What is the greatest challenge you face in regards to your relationship with your adolescent? I am over protective of Deborah besides having issues with her because she prefers dressing like a slut or provocative. I also try to keep an open and honest relation with DJ. There’s a double standard. 7. What is your child’s feeling toward his friendships? Do you think these friendships have a major influence on him/her? If so give some examples? DJ already has a select group of friends like Jock who most of them play football whereas Deborah contends of typical female rival relationships. 8. How has the world changed from the time you were a teen? What then are some new challenges your teen will face that you did not? Social media. The children dress more provocatively now. Drugs have become more common and increased in strength besides a lot of peer pressure. 9. Does your child have what you would consider good or poor self-esteem? Describe how you think they perceive themselves? Deborah has an overly high self-esteem. She is calm out in the public but at home she puts herself above everybody else. DJ tries to be the best at anything he does and assists others in increasing their ability too. 10. How do you cope with the anxiety and pressures that come with parenting an adolescent? I act like a dictator by strictly enforcing rules and stripping away privileges if they get out of line. I must acknowledge that there is a double standard in my parenting techniques between DJ and Deborah because of the gender differences. Next, you will write a report about the interview that also includes your own philosophy on parenting. The interview went on well in a calm manner whereby the parent did not find it hard in answering varied questions set for him. Parent claimed a lot has changed between them ever since the children attained teen stage. He cited that the children, due to diverse changes that they are experiencing, relations that were evident before seem to fade away as the adolescents strengthen bonds with their peers. For instance, DJ turns to be sneakier and discrete besides evading spending much of his time with Red unlike in the past he also professes premeditated moves Parent also argue that they normally apply double standards where applicable especially when enforcing certain rules and stripping privileges those seem to have gone overboard. This is essential because it helps the two teens to have discipline that would persist not only when they are young but also in adulthood whereby one will be able to set own limits concerning varied conducts. He fears that the world is rapidly changing whereby the old techniques are not applicable currently where we have heightened state of social media intervention in humanity’s life. Besides this his main concern is Deborah’s dress code and she tends to dress like a slut and very provocative. The paper is composed of three sections. In the first part of the paper, list the questions presented and answers given during the interview. This part should be two to three pages in length. In the second part of the paper, address the following questions. Support your answers with your textbook and Scripture. 1. What parental style do you think the parent in the interview has? The parent uses authoritative style (Kusterer, 2010). His word is final and there is no compromise regarding regulations, which he sets. He expects maturity from both DJ and Deborah (Benson & Haith, 2010). In addition, Red keeps an open relationship with DJ. 2. Is this style consistent, or do you think it changes as a consequence to the child’s behavior? The style is not consistent as Red maintains a good relationship with the Deborah and DJ if they behave well but the opposite occurs when they exhibit bad behavior. When the two misbehave, they face curfews, Deborah is not to watch the weird shows that she likes and DJ stands to be in solitude if he breaks a rule (Benson & Haith, 2010). 3. What seems to be the greatest concern this parent has with his/her child? How does this manifest in the parent-child relationship? According to the textbook, is this common? Be sure to put these questions as well as your answers together in your paper. This should be about one page long. The greatest concern that Red has over Deborah is her mode of dressing. On many occasions Deborah dresses like a slut and very provocative which Red dislikes so much. His other concern is keeping an open relationship with DJ. He also expects them to follow his rules to the latter without any compromise. In the third and final section, reflect on your own personal parenting philosophy by addressing the following, final questions. If you are a parent, use your current philosophical approach; if you are not a parent of an adolescent at this time, use your ideal approach. Again, list the questions in your paper, and use your textbook and Bible to help support your answers. This will add one more page to your paper’s length. 1. What parenting style do you believe is the best and why? I believe in authoritative parenting style because it strengthens child- parent bond and is thought to bring up children that are more responsible (Kusterer, 2010). It also enhances communication between the child and parent; hence, they understand each other (Benson & Haith, 2010). The child also attains a standard of maturity and becomes more disciplined. 2. How do you (the parent) balance the relationship with the adolescent and enforcing the rules of the house? I ensure that the teen takes part in the designing of rules. This is by asking them children’s opinion and letting them design the regulations themselves. This will make children feel obliged to abide by the set rules besides upholding them as necessitated without a feeling of oppression (Benson & Haith, 2010). Engaging the teens in talks regularly and maintaining an open relationship aids with keeping things going on smoothly around the house (Kusterer, 2010). 3. How does a Christian Worldview affect the way you parent your adolescents? It asserts that I try my best to bring up morally upright and God-fearing children who will be responsible. 4. How would you approach a child that has a particular issue? Use one of these as a hypothetical example: drugs, dating boundaries, pornography, etc. Write a paragraph on how you would approach this child. I would approach the child in humble and polite manner making him or her feel loved as much as possible. I then try as much as possible to make the child comfortable and relaxed. This is via engaging him or her especially by cracking jokes that will make the child feel more relaxed besides inducing an informal environment (Benson & Haith, 2010). In addition, I will make him or her know that I understand the difficulty he or she he is experiencing with the intention of offering assistance. I will make him or her aware of the consequences of this vice and if possible give him real life examples (Benson & Haith, 2010). 5. How would/do you cope with the anxieties and pressures that come with parenting an adolescent? I would try to be authoritative while parenting the child. Besides doing away with privileges that the child enjoys, I would also set curfews if the kid misbehaves. References Benson J. B, Haith M. (2010), Social and Emotional Development in Infancy and Early Childhood ,Eastbourne: Academic Press Kusterer D. K. (2010). Impact of Parenting Styles on Academic Achievement. New York: Long Island University, The Brooklyn Center. Read More