Child

Rearing
is

"childcare" or "baby
caring for and
child/children usually
In the United States

Child rearing
also
known as
child
care.
Child
care (or

care" or "daycare") means

supervising
from 013 years of age.

child care is
increasingly
referred to
as early childhood
education due to the understanding of the impact of early experiences of the
developing child. Child care is a broad topic covering a wide spectrum of contexts,
activities, social and cultural conventions, and institutions. The majority of child
care institutions that are available require that child care providers have extensive

training in first aid and are CPR certified. In addition, background checks, drug
testing, and reference verification are normally a requirement.
Each family is different in its approach in bringing up their children. We come
across some parents who insist an unquestioning obedience from their children.
But children in such homes have to face harsh punishment when they violate the
parental standards of behavior. At times we meet parents who are over concerned
about the childs safety. These parents constantly protect children from possible
and imaginary dangers. There is also another class of parents who are neither over
worried, protective nor over strict. They are concerned about the childs welfare
and devise rational ways to get their children to accept desirable behavior patterns.
Most child development psychologists have emphasized that a childs relationship
to the mother and/or other primary caretaker e.g. father, constitute a central part of
early emotional and social development. One of the important tasks parents have to
perform is to consciously formulate an appropriate pattern for raising children.
Deciding on an appropriate pattern of child rearing will help parents to develop a
child into a mature, well behaved human being.

Socialization
Socialization and care of the child is considered to be the prime function of
parents. Socialization is the process by which children learn standards of behavior.
The learning of expected social behavior is not a short duration task. This behavior
develop through the life long process of socialization whereby an individual
acquires skills, roles, expectations, and values of a culture or a social group in
which he grows.
Importance of socialization has been recognized all over the world. This concern is
reflected in the goals set by parents of different class groups, national groups and
nationalities. A group of economically lower class parents may be to see that their
children survive and are healthy. They as well as the middle class parents would
like their children to gain skills so that at maturity he or she is economically selfsufficient. They want their children to think and behave acceptably within the
frame work of the social culture. They would like children to show marked

improvement in the school achievements. Parents knowingly or unknowingly also

set goals about the moral code and/or religious and political ideology.
The process of socialization begins in infancy usually with the family when parent
child attachments are formed. But is not a unidirectional or one way process that
determines parental child rearing approaches. The nature of interpersonal
relationships is bidirectional i.e. reciprocal.
As soon as the infant is born, the pattern of interaction is set up between the
parents and the child. As the child grows, parents start teaching children acceptable
ways of eating, sleeping etc. from infancy towards children exhibit unique patterns
of behavior as well as some development problems. Infants have to adjust to
sleeping and feeding patterns. A toddler who has become mobile and self-aware
increases possibilities of physical harm, destructiveness, temper tantrums and
aggressive behaviors. Behavior like disobedience, resistance to routine activities
and poor social skills become dominant during the third year, which is the
beginning of the preschool stage. Once the preschool stage is over, school
problems, adjustment to peer groups/age mates, fulfilling demands of school
curriculum etc. emerge on the scene in the middle of late childhood. With changing
behavior profiles, parents have to use different corrective actions.
The other forces within the family which affect socialization refer to variations in
the family structure such as the mother is working outside home, fatherless
families, siblings relationships and adopted children. Thus the variations among
the different families in child rearing practices have to be understood and
accepted in a broad framework.

Effect of Culture
Child rearing techniques vary from culture to culture and also within cultures. The
main reason for the variations in the techniques used by parents lies in the concept
of the good or ideal children accepted by a particular culture. All parents over the
world intend to bring up a well behaved model child as perceived in their society.
Conceptions about the goodness or ideal child in a way determine the kind of
methods parents use for the socialization process. For example, the Americans

brought up in western, protestant culture want their children to acquire values of

independence and self-reliance from a very early age. They encourage and insist
that children learn to themselves, feed by themselves from infancy. Japanese
parents cherish values of independence and also value loyalty to the mother and the
other members in the family. Development of attachment and affection is fostered
from birth. Parents remain very close to the baby. They respond quickly every time
a child cries and quieten them by rocking and carrying them often.

Variation within culture

Neighborhood, caste and community, socio-economic class to which the family
belongs and schools are other forces which influence socialization practices. The
family system exists in a set of larger systems. This in turn influences child rearing
practices used by parents. A young child living in a small town can play and
participates in the activities without supervision. However a child of the same age
or even little older may need a constant watch outside the house in a metropolitan
cities because the surrounding area could be crowed and hazardous.
The value systems of an urban and rural community may differ in many aspects.
Physical punishment like thrashing, beating children for violation of parental
standards may be accepted as proper correctional techniques in rural areas or by
the parents of lower classes. While the educated economically higher class urban
community would consider such techniques as harmful and outmoded.

Parents own upbringing

The standards of behavior expected by parents and the practices used to instill
them among their children emerge out of the parents own upbringing i.e. the way
they were brought up in their childhood by their parents. Most parents and
especially those who have developed strong emotional bonds with their own
parents consciously or unconsciously not only imitate the child rearing techniques
their parents have used but become firm believers about the correctness of these
practices. Values as well as ways to discipline get passed down from generation to

generation. And if the attachment bond is strong parents accept without much
question that what had been tried with them and proved good for them would be
good enough for their children also.

The advances in scientific knowledge

One of the major sources in bringing up children is acquiring scientific
information. Child developed- mentalists and child-psychologist have contributed
greatly to wards understanding of children and provided parents useful information
of the desirable methods they can use to raise children. Parents are advised as to
what to do in specific situations as well as about desirable strategies they can use in
socializing children. Variations in child rearing practices often occur due to the
changes in advises.

Techniques of child rearing

Parents follow a variety of practices while raising children. The practices differ not
only from culture to culture but also from parent to parent within the same culture
group. Again, the same parent may adopt different practices according to the age
and sex of the child. The mother and the father in the same family may also differ
as to how to raise their child. After examine a variety of these practices scientists
have classified them in three major categories.
1. Authoritarian.
2. Permissive
3. Authoritative-Democratic-Supportive.
These categories can be distinguished from each other on the basis of certain
psychological dimension and the techniques used by parents to control or
discipline.

Authoritarian Parents:

This pattern of child rearing represents the strictest end of disciplinary techniques.
The authoritarian parent acts in the role of a boss- a controller and he expects that
the childs job is to obey him without questions. Parents try to keep children in
check by controlling every aspects of their behavior. Put your school bag on the
shelf or you will not get your snacks. Complete your homework right now. The
commanding behavior of authoritarian parents continues in their dealings with
even very young children. Toddlers get shouted or spanked when they spill liquids
or tear papers.
The philosophy of these parents is power and control. Some of their qualities are:
They are temperamentally harsh and tough and allow no expression of
feelings and thoughts on part of their children.
These parents cling to a set of rules, in framing which children have no
voice.
They are also restrictive.
They attempt to shape, control, and asses the behavior and attitudes of the
child according to a set of standards which they think are the only correct
one.
They favor punitive measures to force children to obey their commands.
They think they will be able to curb the self-will of a child by coercion and
punishment.
The term authoritarian resembles the political term dictator. This is a one way
channel where the authority figure- the parent takes every decision without
communicating the rationale of that decision to the child. These parents believe a
child is to be seen and ordered but not to be heard.

Permissive Parents
The extreme end of permissiveness is opposite to the authoritarianism. A
permissive parent allows his child to do whatever he likes, gives the child
autonomy, freedom to do things his way and in that sense does not behave like a
boss or dictator. But such permissiveness may arise out of indifference, that the
parent does not feel concerned about and in that sense does not really love the

child. The permissiveness may also arise out of love, sometimes a blind love for
the child-whatever the child does is praiseworthy; no control, no punishment.
The dimension of permissiveness is also related to the dimension of protectiveness;
the degree to which a parent protects a child. Some parents are over protective.
Overprotective parents control the childs behavior instead of guiding it and
encouraging being on his own. They regulate a great many aspects of the child life
when there is no need to do so.
Depending upon the level of control, overprotective patterns of child raising can be
divide into two categories1.

Domineering over protectors:

These parents frequently between dominating their offspring and submitting
to them.
They believe that fulfillment of their childs every need is their
responsibility.
They wish their child from failure or from pin-in a way from realities of life.
These tender hearted, devoted inexperienced parents are constantly
concerned about the childs physical safety especially during toddlerhood.
2. Indulgent over protectors:
They are loving, warm, affectionate but much less controlling than the
domineering over-protectors.
They are sometimes as permissive in that they allow their children to do
whatever they like.
They lay down very few dos and donts.
They never instruct their children about manners and morals.

Authoritative and Supportive Parents

These parents fall somewhere between the authoritarian and permissive parents.
These parents exert their authority but are not rigid and dictatorial like the
authoritarian parents. They also differ from permissive parents because they do not
yield to every whim of a child or his irrational demands.

The methods or technique adopted by these parents can be labeled as inductive

techniques.
They persuade the child to accept rules and regulations on a rational basis.
They make it a point to give reason for rules and limits set down by them.
They do not expect a blind obedience from children.
They explain the consequences of the childs self-chosen action.
They praise a good act of a child and exchange views on topics from
manners to morals.
These parents listen to their children and allow them to participate in the
decision making process.
They set clear standards for children to follow about the rightness and have
patience for the children in implementing them.
Their punishments are never harsh and never lead to the physical or
psychological harm.

Impact of child rearing on childs behavior

Impact of Authoritarian Parents
The effect of the methods adopted by the authoritarian parents is
Generates a negative attitude among children.
Children become dependent, unable to take initiative.
The harsh physical punishment meted out for breaking rules evoke the
feelings of hostility, hatred, fear of their parents.
These children are often quarreling with and bullying the other children in
the same way they are bullied by their own parents.
They dont respect the adults and dont like to respect the traditional values
and order.
Their parents set some rules for them to study hard but the children brought
up in such homes are often low achievers.

 They lack self-confidence and the ability to cope realistically with their
problems.
In later life, they may not be able to shoulder adult responsibilities and
withdraw from situations that pose problems.
In extreme cases, they are inclined to self- punishment which sometimes
lead to suicidal tendencies.

Impact of Permissive Parents

Children of indulgent over protectors may become disobedient, rebellious and
aggressive while children of the domineering over protectors appear to be neat,
clean, polite, obedient and comforting to the social approved rules. However their
relationship with other children does not get built on an equal footing because
compared to children of same age they are immature. They find it difficult to assert
their rights, feel insecure and home sick. They exhibit personality traits like
submissiveness, dependence, passivity, timidity, awkwardness and apprehension.
Such traits are not conductive to healthy development of personality.

Impact of Authoritative and Supportive Parents

The children from these homes develop many positive traits of behavior. Most
well-adjusted, achieving competent youngsters come from these homes.
Authoritative homes may socially competent children. The children are obedient
but not of fear. They are outgoing and independent from the beginning. The
supportive and warm environment encourages exploration, curiosity and self
-reliance leading to achievement and accomplishment. In these homes the
communication between parents and children is also a two way process and helps
the socialization process by parents.

References
www.wikipedia.com
www.slideshare.com
Responsible parenthood and Harmonious families by Sudha
Kulkarni and Suneeta Kulkarni