Parenting That Works - Essay Example

The article provides insights from different psychiatrists on how a parent can manage a child’s behaviour. Alan Kazdin who is a psychology professor at Yale University and director of the Child Conduct Clinic and Yale Parenting Centre believes that when parents give attention to undesired behaviours they encourage the child to engage in undesired behaviours. Kazdin found out that when parents ignore screams and give attention to their children; they mold a child’s behaviour better. Parents are also encouraged to learn about child development and understand some of the misconducts that are common for each stage. A parent should ignore some of the behaviours displayed in the early stages such as throwing food on the floor because the child may be learning a new skill. Parents are also encouraged to be calm and correct a child nicely when he or she misbehaves is happening. According to this article, it is important for the parent to pay attention to the child’s life to prevent misbehaviour. 

Although the article is rich in content, it is evident that Amy’s research is only based on the strategies of parenting that are backed by research studies. However, the main question that emerges is whether the mentioned strategies have proven to be effective in someone's parenting. To some extent, the research surprises me when it highlights that a parent should be calm and ignore minor misbehaviours. At this point, this research proves that a parent should act nicely when the child is messing up with the floor or any other area. I disagree with this research as a discipline is best recommended to shape the child’s behaviour. Behaviourist theory emphasizes that children who misbehave seek attention. Therefore, when a parent disciplines the child, he or she helps him to identify that the behaviour is bad and most likely he may fear doing it again. A parent should not reinforce bad behaviour, but should identify and correct it in love.

Although I have heard a lot about parenting, this research caught my attention when it highlighted that parents’ stress has a negative effect on the child’s behaviour. I support this fact as the child’s environment plays a crucial role in shaping the child’s behaviour. Overall, I believe that research may impact parents in their parenting. As the article puts it, parents should spend considerable time with their children as this boosts their esteem, confidence, and improve their behaviour. However, I think the researcher could have been more thorough if he would have adequate data collection to support his research. The research is only based on what child psychiatrists have seen in their working experience. However, the research lacks facts and information on whether the mentioned parenting strategies have proven to be successful in that parenting. Despite the mentioned limitations, the article is deep in content and I would recommend any parents to read the article and highlight some of the important points mentioned in the article.

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