- Studies show that children whose parents are involved show greater social and emotional development (Allen & Daly, 2002), including more resilience to stress, greater life satisfaction, greater self-direction and self-control, greater social adjustment, greater mental health, more supportive relationships, greater social competence, more positive peer relations, more tolerance, more successful marriages, and less delinquent behaviours (Desforges & Abouchaar, 2003).
- Powerful stuff, if you ask me and we should never take for granted the impact our parental upbringing has on us. It is important that parents and carers are aware of the significant contribution they can make to their children’s learning by providing a stimulating environment. I have an aunt who recently started a new business, because of this business she found herself spending less time with her family, in the end her son dropped two grades down!
- Families, parents and guardians in particular, play a significant role in the occupational aspirations and career goal development of children. Without parental approval or support, a student is often reluctant to pursue, let alone explore diverse career possibilities even now I find it difficult to shake of some off the oddities “train up your child in the way he should go and he will not depart from it”.
- My Point: If you are a parent, young, old or even new to the world of parenting, spending time to develop your child’s mental should be your paramount objective. If you’re young and are thinking of having children, don’t rush into it, better to wait and get it right than to rush and make damaging mistakes while bringing up your children.
- Still on the topic of parental influence on our mind, to really become aware of how much impact our upbringing has on you, what you need to do is begin to draw parallels between your parents and yourself. From this moment on start paying attention to the attitudes, beliefs and behaviour of your parents, especially the things that you don’t like and those things that “annoy” you the most about them. Write them down and look to see if they are evident in yourself, you might not see them at first but in most cases we are a reflection of our upbringing.
Regards
Emmanuel Ajilore
