Family and parenting - Assignment Example

Your full May 16, Family and Parenting I define family as a group of people who are related toeach other through bondage of blood and kinship, and who look after each other in times of hardship. It is the family with whom one can laugh away all the worries of life. Our parents bring us up, and we grow up in the company of our siblings. In my definition of family, there is my dad, mom and me. I have no siblings, so my whole family includes my dad and mom only. I have seen and followed them ever since I was born, and they are my role models.

In Chinese culture, family is given great importance as I have seen in my own home. Chinese people have to get married because for them, family is an extension of society and not of an individual. Chinese people need to create a family in order to be socially accepted. For Chinese individuals, family is only a way of social survival. Since the Chinese culture has a strong sense of humility and human respect, hence people in a family treat each other with respect and dignity while not letting the other person feel any less.

These are the Chinese social practices that I have been brought up with and which I have observed and followed within my own family. Chinese culture believes in collectivism rather than individualism, and hence every member of the family is supposed to take care of other members. I have always seen my mom and dad not only caring for me but also for relatives like my aunts, uncles, and grandparents. There is no perfect parent and perfect parenting. But, there is good parent and good parenting.

Parenting is the process during which parents support their children physically, emotionally, financially and socially, right from infancy to adulthood. It is one of the biggest challenges, especially when parents make efforts to be the best parents intending to bring the best out of their children. Parents use many approaches while parenting. Some make the children bold and confident; while, some tend to make their personalities weaker. Those people make good parents who allow their children to reason.

Authoritative parents argue with their child but leave room for objections. They listen to their child’s ideas and reason with them due to which the child also learns how to reason and present logic. This sharing of ideas leads to good communication between the parents and the child, which is very beneficial for the child in the long run. The child talks to the parents about his problems and discusses issues problematic to him. The parents listen to him, and share their own opinions with him logically.

Hence, to be a good parent, one must smooth out the means of communication with the children, and must allow them to present their logics and reasoning. Good parenting involves good communication and friendship with children, which leads to bringing up of confident and happy individuals for the society.