Continuing Down Memory Lane….
English
Period 3 May 13,1998
Parenting Essay
Now a days it takes a lot to be a good parent. You must possess certain wisdom and qualities like health, stable income, responsibility, etc. You must also keep in mind what it was like to be a kid, this way you can relate to them better and know what is good to do for them, what they didn’t like, what they did like, what helps them and other useful things like that. All in all make sure you are ready for the responsibility, that alone makes a big part of being a good parent.
Atticus, I believe possesses a lot of those ‘good parent’ qualities. He explains things thoroughly to Jem and Scout. A good example is when Atticus is explaining how you shouldn’t judge somebody before you have stepped into his or her skin and have seen things through their eyes (p.30). Another ‘good parenting’ trait Atticus displays is that he sets a good example. Defending a person nobody else liked was a good example Atticus set for his kids, plus he explained to them why he was defending that person even though others criticized and ridiculed him for it. “Because it’s what I believe is the right thing to do,” he said.
Being a parent in today’s world is not being taken quite as seriously as it should, in my opinion anyway. I also think that it is far more difficult to be a parent today because it is harder to keep your children from being exposed to lewd and unacceptable influences. (Influences of which not even adults, or anyone for that matter, should be exposed to.) Parenting has changed a great deal in our society and is changing more and more every day as new discoveries and ideas are being revealed. And honestly, if the world keeps progressing at the rate it is, I think parenting is going to get harder and harder as every generation passes. The best hope we have for the future is the good influences that those seemingly rare ‘good parents’ out there have.
Obviously it takes more than we often realize to be a good parent. Though a lot of people claim most of this job is run by instinct, a lot of it is raw work. The only problem is, in order for this relationship to ultimately work; it has to be a two-way transaction. In other words the child has to put in some effort along with the parent. The child has a reasonably easy responsibility to carry out; he or she just has to show their love and appreciation for what their parent does for them. And a lot of times, especially during the teenage years, this role can easily be forgotten.
As ridiculous as it seems a lot of the friction between a parent and their child is caused by the child’s lack of understanding. The inability to understand the rationality of their parents actions; for example, assigning a curfew, parents do this in order to set limits for the protection and guidance of their loved ones. Children often see this as nothing more than a way for their parents to keep them from having real fun. In reality, this is something done by a ‘good parent’. And more times than not, if the child follows this rule to the best of his or her ability a trust will be formed and he or she’s curfew might possibly be extended. As will the love and bond between the family.
