Monday, June 30, 2008

Single parent family

It all begins with the birth of a child into this world with the blessings of God to two blessed individuals. Life seems to be happy and complete. Suddenly a tragedy strikes you and you are completely shattered. You are deprived of your life partner with your child being your only reason to live. This may be due to various reasons. Either your journey was only limited to that particular time or you were forced to take a decision to separate.

In simpler words it could either be due to death or divorce. In both these cases, either the father or mother is responsible for the upbringing of the child.
A single parent family is a difficult and thorny task to be executed. Parenting styles and methods do vary with the gender difference.

The tasks performed by both the parents differ with a difference in the gender. The role of a mother and father definitely varies for the child. The father plays the role of a much tougher and disciplinary role where as the mother is looked upon as the love giver and is the more sensitive and docile parent.

But in unfortunate cases where one of the parents does not perform his role due to unavoidable circumstances, the child is deprived of the love and affection of one of them. The single parent is expected to perform the role of both the father as well as the mother.

This certainly is a Herculean task which needs to be dealt with a lot of patience and maturity. The parent must be cautious of every step in order to ensure a smooth and pleasant journey of the golden period of ‘childhood’ for their child.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Parents as friends in the lives of children.

Roles are always pre-decided by the society. A child is expected to be sister to a brother, a sister to a sister, a friend to a friend and so on. In the similar fashion, a parent is definitely placed as a role model, support system in the life of a child. But have we ever thought how important is it to have our parents as friends in life?

All of us definitely have a large set of friends with whom we share our joys and sorrows. These friends are an integral part of our life, but little do we realize that parents are our best friends. Friends, who give unconditional love, a welcoming shoulder, always there to share our joys and guide us to a approved path leading us to success and happiness. Parents knowingly or unknowingly understand what the child goes through. This makes it very easy for them to help the child in dealing with the situation in the best possible and accurate manner. Experiences that the parents have gathered in the due course of life, when passed on to the child, make the child well aware of life and its proceedings.

Parents are undoubtedly the child’s best friends but little do they realize this fact. We tend to take parents as figures of authority and power, forgetting the fun and friend like side to them.
It is very important for the parents as well to help the child by being a friend and not a ‘parent’ all the time. This not only makes life easy for the child and saves the child from the difficult situations of life. Many a times the child is in turmoil and feels the need of a friend. This is the time when parents must lend their shoulder and advice to their kids and be a ‘FRIEND’ to them.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

career selection

At first the child is burdened with the overloaded school bags, mounting tension of exams and the pressure of securing the rankers position in academics. Then arrives the crucial deciding year of life when the child is expected to decide his future. He is expected to choose his career plans. This is definitely a Herculean task for both the entities.

Parents hold numerous aspirations for their child and tend to force them onto them without actually comprehending the child’s capacity. Every child is gifted with special and specific talents which parents sometimes fail to recognize. This not only makes life miserable for the parent but makes a deep impact on the child’s psyche.
The child’s mind is fresh, ready to seep in knowledge from various sources and then make appropriate decisions for oneself; but when such parental pressures attack his mind, they act as hurdles in the path to accurate decision making.

The parent must gaze the aptitude of their child and then appropriately help the child the select their career plans instead of forcing them into a field which is away from their talent.

It often happens that the parents indulge into stereotyping of career opportunities. This occurs as they are unaware of the diverse career options available. The parents must acquire and absorb the knowledge of different streams and then present the choices available in front of their child.
Instead of pushing the child through the decision, parents must be a part of the process and help the child to make the best choice.

Selection of a career is a crucial task which should be handled with a lot of patience and intelligence. Since it is a make or break decision, both the entities must work in co-ordination throughout the process.