Hw 57

Part 1:

• What should be the guiding principles? Love? Obedience? Loving obedience? Humor? Empowerment? Subordination? Time outs? Separate cribs or co-sleeping? Breast feeding or bottle? Child-centered or parent-centered? etc.

I think that the focus should definitely be child-centered, but the rest may not be so easy to decide. what is necessary may actually depend on the child, no matter how much a parent tries to plan it out before hand. For example, I didn't like breast milk, I was much happier when I was switched to cow's milk; and I simply wouldn't sleep if I was anywhere but in my rocker, the car, or on my mom's chest (while she was standing up). Similarly, a child naturally prone to misbehaving will require more focus on discipline. Love, however, will mostly depend on what the parent is capable of giving.

• What were the best parts of how you were parented (since the worst parts don't really belong in a public class blog)?

I'd say that the best thing about how I was raised was that my parents always talked to me. They made a point to tell me when something important was going on, even if they had to dumb down the explanation. They also had in-depth discussions with me about anything I was curious about, be it sea animals or the civil war. As I got older, they also helped me to articulate my feelings and have a reflective discussion to come to a compromise that everyone was happy with.

Part 2:

When Parenting Theories Backfire-- Well that theory, honestly, was not a very good idea. Even without the unpredictable responses, a child that is constantly being asked "you choose" will come to think of themself either as the ruler of the universe, or feel that options are pressing in on them from all sides. Plus, a parent constantly asking the same question will begin to sound like a broken record, and eventually be discredited and ignored, leaving the child to feel alone. And the unpredictable responses are going to be a problem when you try applying anyone else's theory: if you didn't invent it, you won't know how to counteract something that goes outside it's boundries.

Attachment Parenting-- they worked pretty hard to make some of thise start with B, huh? Anyway, I don't have any strong responces to this. My main reaction was that these methods may not always be applicable, but that is also mentioned later on. The only thing I sort of disagree with was the babywearing thing: I'm not against it, I just don't think it's as helpful as it seems. I think the main issue is that that's the time that babies get the most stimulation, but if you provide them with objects or other people to interact with most of the time being carried around won't be that different for them.