A Child to Their Parents

 When children are brought out into the world, they have as much information as a speck of dust. They must learn through sight, sound, and experience. Where can they obtain such knowledge?

The family of the child is the best source of knowledge for the child. As a little baby, the parents would be the best source of all family members. Children are heavily reliant on their parents. They rely on them for things such as food, water, and shelter. They also rely on them as a source of knowledge of this brand-new concept of life that they have just entered. As a source of knowledge, what can the parents offer?

For one, as mentioned previously, parents can offer their children the basic necessities of survival. Such necessities include, but are not limited to, water, food, and shelter. Without food and water, just as with all human life, the children will be unable to feed their appetite of things that the body needs. Shelter provides many benefits to the children. It can provide a space of comfort where the child can develop. It provides protection from the dangers of the outside world, whether it be human or nature (natural disasters for example). A child, especially a baby, simply cannot afford to obtain these necessities on their own terms. Parents are the source that they look up to in order to obtain these necessities.

Parents offer children the ability to learn through their own experiences. Children will go through several situations in life where they are to make a decision. They will tend to rely on parents for a decision. This is due to the trust and experience that they provide to their children. When something occurs that they do not approve of, parents are there to explain why it has occurred. They can offer similar experiences from their own life as lessons for the child to learn and understand.

Parents must learn to “handle their children.” What does this mean, necessarily? Parents must own up to any problems that the child faces. Say a child decides to play real life Frogger (possibly because the game is so fun). The consequences will only physically affect the child. However, parents must “handle their child.” The consequences are far too severe for the child to be partaking in that activity. In this scenario, the parent must treat the child’s problem as their own. This is to ensure the safety of the child. Parents must seek the best for their children.

Of course, children can learn from the consequences of minor incidents. For example, say a child decides to never go to the bathroom because “one who holds it until the end of the school day is cool” (This is the best I could come up with…). The child, after day three then releases their waste on their pants. Now they are smelly and embarrassed. This consequence would be a great lesson for the child to learn that “if you got to go, you got to go.”

Parents should seek for teaching opportunities. They should not take a harsh approach to the child when things go wrong. Parents should not punish children for no reason. They should hold a conversation with the child explaining why they have obtained a punishment. This is seeking the learning opportunity.

Children are heavily reliant on their parents. It is the parent’s job to provide many valuable lessons, understanding, and necessities into their lives. Parenting is an opportunity to guide children into a successful and happy direction. The blessing of parenting is an opportunity for the parents to develop their children, “alongside their children”.