best essay on parent

My Parents Essay

500 Words Essay On My Parents

We entered this world because of our parents. It is our parents who have given us life and we must learn to be pleased with it. I am grateful to my parents for everything they do for me. Through my parents essay, I wish to convey how valuable they are to me and how much I respect and admire them.

My Strength My Parents Essay

My parents are my strength who support me at every stage of life. I cannot imagine my life without them. My parents are like a guiding light who take me to the right path whenever I get lost.

My mother is a homemaker and she is the strongest woman I know. She helps me with my work and feeds me delicious foods . She was a teacher but left the job to take care of her children.

My mother makes many sacrifices for us that we are not even aware of. She always takes care of us and puts us before herself. She never wakes up late. Moreover, she is like a glue that binds us together as a family.

Parents are the strength and support system of their children. They carry with them so many responsibilities yet they never show it. We must be thankful to have parents in our lives as not everyone is lucky to have them.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

While my mother is always working at home, my father is the one who works outside. He is a kind human who always helps out my mother whenever he can. He is a loving man who helps out the needy too.

My father is a social person who interacts with our neighbours too. Moreover, he is an expert at maintaining his relationship with our relatives. My father works as a businessman and does a lot of hard work.

Even though he is a busy man, he always finds time for us. We spend our off days going to picnics or dinners. I admire my father for doing so much for us without any complaints.

He is a popular man in society as he is always there to help others. Whoever asks for his help, my father always helps them out. Therefore, he is a well-known man and a loving father whom I look up to.

Conclusion of My Parents Essay

I love both my parents with all my heart. They are kind people who have taught their children to be the same. Moreover, even when they have arguments, they always make up without letting it affect us. I aspire to become like my parents and achieve success in life with their blessings.

FAQ of My Parents Essay

Question 1: Why parents are important in our life?

Answer 1: Parents are the most precious gifts anyone can get. However, as not everyone has them, we must consider ourselves lucky if we do. They are the strength and support system of children and help them out always. Moreover, the parents train the children to overcome challenges and make the best decision for us.

Question 2: What do parents mean to us?

Answer 2: Parents mean different things to different people. To most of us, they are our source of happiness and protection. They are the ones who are the closest to us and understand our needs without having to say them out loud. Similarly, they love us unconditionally for who we are without any ifs and buts.

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Essay On Parents

To think, talk or write about parents can take one on an emotional roller-coaster ride. Parents are the most significant and influential people in every child's life. Right from giving us birth, parents toil hard to make us independent and self-sufficient individuals. Here are a few sample essays on “Parents”.

100 Words Essay On Parents

200 words essay on parents, 500 words essay on parents.

The influence of parents on children's life is significant, we are because they are. They are responsible for giving birth as well as bringing them up in a healthy way. Right from the day a child is born, parents take care of their every need and groom them to become effective members of society. They are essential to each stage of a child's development. Parents are givers of love, support, care and direction which is needed for one to move forward in life. Nothing is more reassuring and calming for a person than their parents’ arms, no matter how old they get.

For a youngling, parents are providers of everything. From the basic needs of food and personal hygiene, love and care, to all material needs and requirements. Parents toil hard in their respective occupations to give the best possible lives to their children. They do all in their power to make their children all their wishes.

First Teachers | Parents are a child's first teachers, and teach the essence of integral living. The lessons a child learns by observing their parents and listening to them are invaluable, and their real value is often understood after growing up and seeing some of life. It is from parents that children learn to face difficult situations and challenges in life.

Givers Of Love | Unconditional love and acceptance from parents is essential for the healthy development of any child into an adult. A child, whatever age they might be, is likely to feel more motivated to study, work, and achieve their goals if they know they have their parents to fall back upon. Some of the renowned psychologists of the world have established that the quality of one’s relationship with their parents has a huge impact on the kind of relationships they form as adults.

They say, it is at the birth of the child that a parent is born. The art of parenting is difficult to develop and maintain, there is something new to learn at every step. There is no turning back once one signs up for it. Parents need to carefully manage their time and mindfully manage work and personal life, such that they’re able to give adequate time to their children.

Parents As Providers | Like the human body needs food, water, and oxygen to survive, the body and the mind also need love, affection, and security to thrive. All these needs are, for the first few years of life, fulfilled solely by one’s parents. Parents share all our joys and griefs. They laugh when we laugh, and cry when we cry.

Lifelong Companions | Parental influence on a child's growth is fundamental. The journey from childhood to adulthood is full of physiological, psychological, and social changes. It is easier and less of a pain for individuals to go through these changes and deal with the various challenges they bring, if the journey is backed by the unconditional acceptance and support of parents.

Remind Us Of Strengths | Parents try to provide the best of education to their children. It is said that it is one’s parents who are the most well-aware of one’s skills, strengths, and limitations. Whenever needed, parents remind us of our strengths and encourage us to steer through all the challenges that come our way.

My Relationship With My Parents

I live in a family of six, including my parents, grandparents, my younger brother, and me. My father is a businessman, he is a builder with the govt., while my mother is a homemaker. When I was younger, I used to closer to my mother, share everything with her, spend time with her, but extremely scared of my father. My father had a controlling nature and so I thought he would get angry if I shared anything with him.

My Father And I | But as I grew up, I saw my father encouraging me to hone my talents of dancing, singing, and swimming. He got me enrolled in the best classes for each of these in our locality and would make sure that he dropped me and picked me up from the classes everyday. I realised that my father wanted me to become the best version of myself and polish each skill and talent I possessed, so I could feel proud of myself. One day, one of our relatives commented on me being slightly overweight. My father sensed that I felt embarrassed and that it was wrong of my aunt to comment like that, and so he immediately told my aunt that his daughter would live the kind of life she wanted to and that no one should comment on her choices, in any way.

My Mother And I | My mother and I are like the closest of friends. Not a day goes when I don’t sit with her to discuss what happens in school and among my friends. She never judges me and only tries to handhold me in situations where she feels I feel challenged. We go for lunch to some nice place once in a week and also do some shopping during those outings. She cooks my favourite dishes for me and pampers me like a little baby.

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School Education /

Essay on Parents: Free Samples for School Students

Updated on
Nov 6, 2023

Robert Brault once said, ‘A parent’s love is whole no matter how many times divided.’ Our parents mean everything to us. From birth to the day we become financially independent, our parents have always been there for us, formulate our thoughts and make or change the decisions in our lives. Parents play a crucial role in a child’s emotional, social, intellectual, and physical development. We celebrate important days like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day to honour and respect our parents. No words can describe the efforts and the hardships they go through. Therefore, today we will be providing you with an essay on parents to help you understand their importance in our lives and their role in shaping our future.

Table of Contents

1 Essay on Parents in 100 Words
2 Essay on Parents in 200 Words
3 Essay on Parents in 300 Words

Also Read: Parental Pressure: Care But Not Too Much

Essay on Parents in 100 Words

Also Read: Importance of Education in Our Life

Essay on Parents in 200 Words

Essay on Parents in 300 Words

Ans: It’s very easy to write an essay on parents, all you need to do is highlight every aspect of your life where your parents have supported you. You can start by mentioning your early school days when you were having difficulties with your classmates or teacher, and how beautifully your parents helped you. Real-life examples will give value to your essay as it will portray the emotional bond between you and your parents.

Ans: Mere words cannot describe the importance of parents in our lives, as they always try to do their best. Our parents offer us the life which they ever dreamed of so that we can have a flourishing future. They are the primary source of moral guidance for us. They impart values, ethics, and principles that shape our understanding of right and wrong, contributing to the development of a strong moral compass.

Ans: Here are 5 lines on parents: Parents are the guiding lights that illuminate the path of a child’s life; They provide unconditional love, which forms the bedrock of our emotional well-being; Through their nurturing presence, parents provide a sense of security and stability; They serve as role models, imparting values and morals that shape our character; Parents are the first teachers, introducing us the wonders of the world.

For more information on such interesting topics to help you with your school, visit our essay writing page and follow Leverage Edu .

Shiva Tyagi

With an experience of over a year, I've developed a passion for writing blogs on wide range of topics. I am mostly inspired from topics related to social and environmental fields, where you come up with a positive outcome.

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Narrative Essay: I Love My Parents

Parents are the closest people that we have in our lives, whether we realize it or not. They love us not because we are smart, beautiful, successful or we have a good sense of humour, but just because we are their children. I, too, love mom and dad simply because they are my parents, but I think I would have felt the same even if they weren’t. I love who they are as people, each with their own individual traits – and, together, forming an amazing super-team that’s made me who I am today and taught me what life is all about.

My mother is a cheerful, chatty perfectionist who seems to always find something to get excited about and who can talk for hours about animals and flowers. She is never afraid to speak her mind and she can be very convincing when she wants to. She sometimes get upset a bit too easily, but she is just as quick to forgive and forget. I love mom for all that she is – even when she’s angry – for all that she has done for me, and for all that she’s taught me. My mom has been through a lot throughout the years, but she always kept fighting.She taught me to never lose hope even in the direst of moments, and she showed me how to look for happiness in the small things. She’s been trying to teach me to be more organized as well, but hasn’t succeeded yet. I love her for that too.

My father is quiet, patient and calm, and he has an adorable hit-and-miss sense of humour. I may not always find his jokes that funny, but I love him for trying. Dad almost never gets angry and he is always polite, friendly and nice to everyone. He is not the one to verbalize emotions, but he always shows his feelings through sweet gestures and little surprizes. He is the pacifist in our family and never goes against mom’s wishes, but he runs a large company witha firm hand. I love my father for all these characteristics and for all he’s sacrificed to build a better life for us. He’s worked day and night to ensure we afford good education and have a rich, wonderful childhood, and he has passed up many great opportunities for the benefit of our family. I love dad because he’s taught me that you cannot have it all in life, but with hard work and dedication, you can have what matters most to you.

Mom and dad may be very different people, but they complement each other perfectly. Together, they formed a super-team that was always there – and, thankfully, still is – to provide comfort, nurturing, and support and help me grow as a person. Their complementary personalities bring balance in our family, and each of them steps in whenever they are needed the most. Together, they taught me to believe in myself and have turned me into a fighter. Their care and dedication towards me and each other has served as an example of what healthy relationships should be like, and I love and admire them for that.

I love my parents because they are my parents, my good friends, my heroes, my role models, my safe haven, my pillars of strength.I am who I am today thanks to them, and I know that their support and affection will play an essential role in what I will become in the future.All I can hope is that, when I have children of my own, I will be half as good a parent as they were to me.

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My Parents Essay in English for Students & Children

Essay on My Parents for Students & Children

An essay is basically a short version of expressing the writer’s perspective. It is very similar to a story or a short article. Essays can be written in a formal manner and also an informal manner. However, writing an essay at an early age helps to develop many skills in a child.

Essay writing is included from the Class 1 to 4 English syllabus. That is why we, at Vedantu, have brought up this sample essay on ‘My Parents’ for your reference. You can take a look at it and use it as study material for your child’s learning.

My parents are my superheroes. They are my strength. They stand by me in every crisis of my life. They are the most important people in my life. I love my parents very much. I feel really happy and safe whenever I am with them.

We live in Bangalore but my parents are actually from Mumbai, Maharashtra. My mom is a nutritionist and my dad is a software engineer by profession. Both my parents are good at playing badminton and various other indoor games. My mom is also a good swimmer. I go to the swimming club in our society with her every Sunday to learn how to swim.

My mom wakes up in the morning and prepares food for everyone. My dad also helps my mom. Then my dad helps me in getting ready for school every day. Meanwhile, my mom prepares my lunchbox and keeps it in my bag. She also keeps books and notebooks in my school bag as per my daily routine. My mom prepares really tasty food and so does my dad. I am really happy to have such great parents.

They take care of our health. While keeping unwell, my dad calls the doctor or takes me to the doctor so that I get recovered soon. They pray to God every day for my health. In addition to household chores, my mom also helps me out with my homework.

We spend a lot of time together on the weekends and holidays. We go out to the movies or eat in the restaurant. During long vacations, we go to beautiful beaches or mountains to calm our nerves and refresh ourselves. My dad loves beaches while my mom is fond of hill areas. I like both. I just love spending my vacations with them.

Everyone loves their parents because they support and save you from every evil thing. Not only do they protect us but also they sacrifice our well-being as well. The value of our parents cannot be described in words. We cannot rise and shine without them. They play a great role in our lives so that we can gain all the success and happiness in the world.

My parents are my biggest source of strength. They stand by me and help me whenever I am in trouble. My parents make me feel safe at all times.

We live in Varanasi, but my parents are from Mumbai. My mother is a nutritionist and my father is a doctor by profession. My parents are good Badminton players, and I am also learning the game from them. My mother is also a good swimmer and I accompany her to the swimming club in our society on all Sundays to learn how to swim.

My mother makes breakfast and our tiffins every morning. Before she leaves for work, she makes sure to finish all the cooking for the day too. My father helps my mother with a lot of things. My father helps me and my brother in getting ready for school every day., while my mother is in the kitchen. Mother takes care not to forget to put our tiffin boxes inside our bags. She also makes sure we have all our necessary books and notebooks in the schoolbags as per the daily routine. My mother is a great cook and prepares very delicious food. My father is a very good cook too and he enjoys cooking.

Parents take care of our health and look after us properly, and make sure I and my brother are very well taken care of. In addition to household chores, my mother also helps me with my homework, whenever I need help.

We spend a lot of time together and on weekends and holidays, we go out to the movies or eat-in restaurants. During vacations, we go for long holidays. My father is very fond of the sea and my mother prefers the hills. So we enjoy an equal share of both. And like my father, I also love the sea.

I enjoy spending time with my parents, and I also get to spend time with my friends. My parents are very loving and understanding. The value of our parents cannot be described in words. They play a great role in our lives so that we can gain all the success and happiness in the world.

FAQs on My Parents Essay in English for Students & Children

1. What is Essay writing and why is it important?

An essay can best be described as a formal piece of writing which has only one topic. Essay writing is very advantageous, especially for children. It gives children a chance to collect their thoughts and ideas together and put them down in words, in an elaborate manner. Essay writing is often considered a fun activity. It helps young children to use their imagination. Essay writing is recognized as very useful for kids, and it builds their linguistic skills as they grow older.

2. How can you teach young children to write an essay?

Teaching young children to write an essay involves certain steps, which will help them understand the flow that is required to write an essay. Steps like i) Teaching the young child the use of basic grammar and of writing skills, ii) teach them to make an outline, iii) encourage them to think, iv) note down all the points. Following these steps, the young child will learn how to place all the words together. This in turn, will become a fun activity for them too.

3. Why is My Parents' Essay important?

Essay writing is a habit that children learn from a young age. Essay writing encourages students to think and to write their thoughts on paper.’ My parents’ topic is a basic and very easy essay topic every child is able to relate to. Writing their thoughts down is a way of encouraging them to utilize their brain power and their creativity, which will help build their writing skills. Essay writing helps children think over a topic and then put those thoughts down on paper.

4. How can you help children write an essay on ‘My Parents’?

Helping children to write an essay on My Parents is not a difficult task as long as you have a few handy tips which should include the following points: names of both mother and father, their individual professions, their hobbies and how their hobbies are helping the children, the nature of both parents, etc. Once the children have answers to these basic questions, writing them down on paper will not be much difficult.

5. Where can you get samples of essays on ‘my Parent’?

Essay writing is important for all children and enables children to develop many skills. It is also important to be able to practice some of the sample essays that are available for practice. The online portal, Vedantu.com offers sample essays for students of Class 1 upto Class 4,, that have been formulated in a well structured, well researched, and easy to understand manner. These study materials and sample essay writings are all important and are very easily accessible from Vedantu.com and can be downloaded too.

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I am grateful for my parents and the opportunities they’ve provided

Ananda White is a 2017 Cecil E. Newman Scholarship recipient. Below is her scholarship-winning essay.

The two most influential people to guide my life and education are my parents Angela and Brian White. It’s a cliché, but it is the truth. In fact, my parents will say they want me to have more opportunities than they had, meaning they’ll sacrifice in order for me to accomplish my goals.

Furthering my education will allow me give back to my parents, who have given me more than I can possibly give them. I am very thankful to have supporting parents in my life who listen and support me, because I know many people are not as lucky. They’ve given me multiple pep talks that would get through an assignment on a late night, but they have also reminded me to take a break from my homework and get something to eat.

Even though at times they might not be able to help me or understand some of the work I do for school, I still appreciate the time they take to pretend to understand the work I have to do in pre-calculus.

Growing up in the inner city public school system wasn’t easy, although rewarding. Attending for both elementary and middle school has shaped me into being the African American woman I am today.

At an early age, my parents sent me to Urban League Academy. There at Urban League Academy I saw excellence and educators that showed me a side of Black people the media doesn’t portray. I’m so grateful to my parents for choosing Urban League Academy during those earlier years of my life; even though, I probably wouldn’t feel the same way back then.

I now have a sense of gratitude for my time at that school, especially when my other Black friends tell me that they never had a Black teacher or that they’ve always been in the minority group at their school.

In sixth grade, I went to W.I.S.E Charter School where the entire school celebrated Kwanzaa. This is where I first learned about Historical Black Colleges and Universities. I wish more students of color could experience what it’s like to be surrounded by educators and peers that are of the same race as them. My parents have always supported other Black people which has strengthened my confidence. If it wasn’t for that experience I probably wouldn’t have the confidence to go to college.

Additionally, many people in my family haven’t gone to college. But, my parents have never made me feel as though that I wouldn’t be able to. My entire life they made me feel important and that I had the potential to go further in life than just a high school diploma. My dad, Brian, only got a high school diploma and has had a job ever since. My mom, Angela, tried to do some college but was never able to get very far between work and home.

Again, I’m grateful because they’ve given me the opportunity to do something. The support my parents gave me throughout my 18 years have been tremendous, including helping me on assignments, driving me to activities and events, and putting a smile on my face when I’m sad.

My mother has been the person to explain and help me through a difficult problem and my father has been the one to remedy any situation and helped me relaxed when I’m stressed. They have continued to go the extra mile, providing me with the chance to go far in life as long as I stay focus. Without realizing it, my parents have been the consistent keys to my success.

For a recap/photos from the 2017 Graduation Celebration, go here .

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Parenting Matters: Supporting Parents of Children Ages 0-8 (2016)

Chapter: 1 introduction, 1 introduction.

Parents are among the most important people in the lives of young children. 1 From birth, children are learning and rely on mothers and fathers, as well as other caregivers acting in the parenting role, to protect and care for them and to chart a trajectory that promotes their overall well-being. While parents generally are filled with anticipation about their children’s unfolding personalities, many also lack knowledge about how best to provide for them. Becoming a parent is usually a welcomed event, but in some cases, parents’ lives are fraught with problems and uncertainty regarding their ability to ensure their child’s physical, emotional, or economic well-being.

At the same time, this study was fundamentally informed by recognition that the task of ensuring children’s healthy development does not rest solely with parents or families. It lies as well with governments and organizations at the local/community, state, and national levels that provide programs and services to support parents and families. Society benefits socially and economically from providing current and future generations of parents with the support they need to raise healthy and thriving children ( Karoly et al., 2005 ; Lee et al., 2015 ). In short, when parents and other caregivers are able to support young children, children’s lives are enriched, and society is advantaged by their contributions.

To ensure positive experiences for their children, parents draw on the resources of which they are aware or that are at their immediate disposal.

___________________

1 In this report, “parents” refers to the primary caregivers of young children in the home. In addition to biological and adoptive parents, main caregivers may include kinship (e.g., grandparents), foster, and other types of caregivers.

However, these resources may vary in number, availability, and quality at best, and at worst may be offered sporadically or not at all. Resources may be close at hand (e.g., family members), or they may be remote (e.g., government programs). They may be too expensive to access, or they may be substantively inadequate. Whether located in early childhood programs, school-based classrooms, well-child clinics, or family networks, support for parents of young children is critical to enhancing healthy early childhood experiences, promoting positive outcomes for children, and helping parents build strong relationships with their children (see Box 1-1 ).

The parent-child relationship that the parent described in Box 1-1 sought and continues to work toward is central to children’s growth and

development—to their social-emotional and cognitive functioning, school success, and mental and physical health. Experiences during early childhood affect children’s well-being over the course of their lives. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when children’s brains are developing rapidly and when nearly all of their experiences are created and shaped by their parents and by the positive or difficult circumstances in which the parents find themselves. Parents play a significant role in helping children build and refine their knowledge and skills, as well as their learning expectations, beliefs, goals, and coping strategies. Parents introduce children to the social world where they develop understandings of themselves and their place and value in society, understandings that influence their choices and experiences over the life course.

PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY

Over the past several decades, researchers have identified parenting-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices that are associated with improved developmental outcomes for children and around which parenting-related programs, policies, and messaging initiatives can be designed. However, consensus is lacking on the elements of parenting that are most important to promoting child well-being, and what is known about effective parenting has not always been adequately integrated across different service sectors to give all parents the information and support they need. Moreover, knowledge about effective parenting has not been effectively incorporated into policy, which has resulted in a lack of coordinated and targeted efforts aimed at supporting parents.

Several challenges to the implementation of effective parenting practices exist as well. One concerns the scope and complexity of hardships that influence parents’ use of knowledge, about effective parenting, including their ability to translate that knowledge into effective parenting practices and their access to and participation in evidence-based parenting-related programs and services. Many families in the United States are affected by such hardships, which include poverty, parental mental illness and substance use, and violence in the home. A second challenge is inadequate attention to identifying effective strategies for engaging and utilizing the strengths of fathers, discussed later in this chapter and elsewhere in this report. Even more limited is the understanding of how mothers, fathers, and other caregivers together promote their children’s development and analysis of the effects of fathers’ parenting on child outcomes. A third challenge is limited knowledge of exactly how culture and the direct effects of racial discrimination influence childrearing beliefs and practices or children’s development ( National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2000 ). Despite acknowledgment of and attention to the importance of culture in

the field of developmental science, few studies have explored differences in parenting among demographic communities that vary in race and ethnicity, culture, and immigrant experience, among other factors, and the implications for children’s development.

In addition, the issue of poverty persists, with low-income working families being particularly vulnerable to policy and economic shifts. Although these families have benefited in recent years from the expansion of programs and policies aimed at supporting them (discussed further below), the number of children living in deep poverty has increased ( Sherman and Trisi, 2014 ). 2 Moreover, the portrait of America’s parents and children has changed over the past 50 years as a result of shifts in the numbers and origins of immigrants to the United States and in the nation’s racial, ethnic, and cultural composition ( Child Trends Databank, 2015b ; Migration Policy Institute, 2016 ). Family structure also has grown increasingly diverse across class, race, and ethnicity, with fewer children now being raised in households with two married parents; more living with same-sex parents; and more living with kinship caregivers, such as grandparents, and in other household arrangements ( Child Trends Databank, 2015b ). Lastly, parenting increasingly is being shaped by technology and greater access to information about parenting, some of which is not based in evidence and much of which is only now being studied closely.

The above changes in the nation’s demographic, economic, and technological landscape, discussed in greater detail below, have created new opportunities and challenges with respect to supporting parents of young children. Indeed, funding has increased for some programs designed to support children and families. At the state and federal levels, policy makers recently have funded new initiatives aimed at expanding early childhood education ( Barnett et al., 2015 ). Over the past several years, the number of states offering some form of publicly funded prekindergarten program has risen to 39, and after slight dips during the Great Recession of 2008, within-state funding of these programs has been increasing ( Barnett et al., 2015 ). Furthermore, the 2016 federal budget allocates about $750 million for state-based preschool development grants focused on improved access and better quality of care and an additional $1 billion for Head Start programs ( U.S. Department of Education, 2015 ; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015 ). The federal budget also includes additional funding for the expansion of early childhood home visiting programs ($15 billion over the next 10 years) and increased access to child care for low-income working families ($28 billion over 10 years) ( U.S. Department

2 Deep poverty is defined as household income that is 50 percent or more below the federal poverty level (FPL). In 2015, the FPL for a four-person household was $24,250 ( Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, 2015 ).

of Health and Human Services, 2015 ). Low-income children and families have been aided as well in recent years by increased economic support from government in the form of both cash benefits (e.g., the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit) and noncash benefits (e.g., Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), and millions of children and their families have moved out of poverty as a result ( Sherman and Trisi, 2014 ).

It is against this backdrop of need and opportunity that the Administration for Children and Families, the Bezos Family Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the U.S. Department of Education, the Foundation for Child Development, the Heising-Simons Foundation, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) requested that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine empanel a committee to conduct a study to examine the state of the science with respect to parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices tied to positive parent-child interactions and child outcomes and strategies for supporting them among parents of young children ages 0-8. The purpose of this study was to provide a roadmap for the future of parenting and family support policies, practices, and research in the United States.

The statement of task for the Committee on Supporting the Parents of Young Children is presented in Box 1-2 . The committee was tasked with describing barriers to and facilitators for strengthening parenting capacity and parents’ participation and retention in salient programs and services. The committee was asked to assess the evidence and then make recommendations whose implementation would promote wide-scale adoption of effective strategies for enabling the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Given the multi- and interdisciplinary nature of the study task, the 18-member committee comprised individuals with an array of expertise, including child development, early childhood education, developmental and educational psychology, child psychiatry, social work, family engagement research, pediatric medicine, public and health policy, health communications, implementation science, law, and economics (see Appendix D for biosketches of the committee members).

WHAT IS PARENTING?

Conceptions of who parents are and what constitute the best conditions for raising children vary widely. From classic anthropological and human development perspectives, parenting often is defined as a primary mechanism of socialization, that is, a primary means of training and preparing children to meet the demands of their environments and take advantage

of opportunities within those environments. As Bornstein (1991, p. 6) explains, the “particular and continuing task of parents and other caregivers is to enculturate children . . . to prepare them for socially accepted physical, economic, and psychological situations that are characteristic of the culture in which they are to survive and thrive.”

Attachment security is a central aspect of development that has been

defined as a child’s sense of confidence that the caregiver is there to meet his or her needs ( Main and Cassidy, 1988 ). All children develop attachments with their parents, but how parents interact with their young children, including the extent to which they respond appropriately and consistently to their children’s needs, particularly in times of distress, influences whether the attachment relationship that develops is secure or insecure. Young chil-

dren who are securely attached to their parents are provided a solid foundation for healthy development, including the establishment of strong peer relationships and the ability to empathize with others ( Bowlby, 1978 ; Chen et al., 2012 ; Holmes, 2006 ; Main and Cassidy, 1988 ; Murphy and Laible, 2013 ). Conversely, young children who do not become securely attached with a primary caregiver (e.g., as a result of maltreatment or separation) may develop insecure behaviors in childhood and potentially suffer other adverse outcomes over the life course, such as mental health disorders and disruption in other social and emotional domains ( Ainsworth and Bell, 1970 ; Bowlby, 2008 ; Schore, 2005 ).

More recently, developmental psychologists and economists have described parents as investing resources in their children in anticipation of promoting the children’s social, economic, and psychological well-being. Kalil and DeLeire (2004) characterize this promotion of children’s healthy development as taking two forms: (1) material, monetary, social, and psychological resources and (2) provision of support, guidance, warmth, and love. Bradley and Corwyn (2004) characterize the goals of these investments as helping children successfully regulate biological, cognitive, and social-emotional functioning.

Parents possess different levels and quality of access to knowledge that can guide the formation of their parenting attitudes and practices. As discussed in greater detail in Chapter 2 , the parenting practices in which parents engage are influenced and informed by their knowledge, including facts and other information relevant to parenting, as well as skills gained through experience or education. Parenting practices also are influenced by attitudes, which in this context refer to parents’ viewpoints, perspectives, reactions, or settled ways of thinking with respect to the roles and importance of parents and parenting in children’s development, as well as parents’ responsibilities. Attitudes may be part of a set of beliefs shared within a cultural group and founded in common experiences, and they often direct the transformation of knowledge into practice.

Parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices are shaped, in part, by parents’ own experiences (including those from their own childhood) and circumstances; expectations and practices learned from others, such as family, friends, and other social networks; and beliefs transferred through cultural and social systems. Parenting also is shaped by the availability of supports within the larger community and provided by institutions, as well as by policies that affect the availability of supportive services.

Along with the multiple sources of parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices and their diversity among parents, it is important to acknowledge the diverse influences on the lives of children. While parents are central to children’ development, other influences, such as relatives, close family friends, teachers, community members, peers, and social institutions, also

contribute to children’s growth and development. Children themselves are perhaps the most essential contributors to their own development. Thus, the science of parenting is framed within the theoretical perspective that parenting unfolds in particular contexts; is embedded in a network of relationships within and outside of the family; and is fluid and continuous, changing over time as children and parents grow and develop.

In addition, it is important to recognize that parenting affects not only children but also parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents’ lives; generate stress or calm; compete for time with work or leisure; and create combinations of any number of emotions, including happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger.

STUDY CONTEXT

As attention to early childhood development has increased over the past 20 years, so, too, has attention to those who care for young children. A recent Institute of Medicine and National Research Council report on the early childhood workforce ( Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, 2015 ) illustrates the heightened focus not only on whether young children have opportunities to be exposed to healthy environments and supports but also on the people who provide those supports. Indeed, an important responsibility of parents is identifying those who will care for their children in their absence. Those individuals may include family members and others in parents’ immediate circle, but they increasingly include non-family members who provide care and education in formal and informal settings outside the home, such as schools and home daycare centers.

Throughout its deliberations, the committee considered several questions relevant to its charge: What knowledge and attitudes do parents of young children bring to the task of parenting? How are parents engaged with their young children, and how do the circumstances and behaviors of both parents and children influence the parent-child relationship? What types of support further enhance the natural resources and skills that parents bring to the parenting role? How do parents function and make use of their familial and community resources? What policies and resources at the local, state, and federal levels assist parents? What practices do they expect those resources to reinforce, and from what knowledge and attitudes are those practices derived? On whom or what do they rely in the absence of those resources? What serves as an incentive for participation in parenting programs? How are the issues of parenting different or the same across culture and race? What factors constrain parents’ positive relationships with their children, and what research is needed to advance agendas that can help parents sustain such relationships?

The committee also considered research in the field of neuroscience,

which further supports the foundational role of early experiences in healthy development, with effects across the life course ( Center on the Developing Child, 2007 ; National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2009 ; World Health Organization, 2015 ). During early childhood, the brain undergoes a rapid development that lays the foundation for a child’s lifelong learning capacity and emotional and behavioral health (see Figure 1-1 ). This research has provided a more nuanced understanding of the importance of investments in early childhood and parenting. Moreover, advances in analyses of epigenetic effects on early brain development demonstrate consequences of parenting for neural development at the level of DNA, and suggest indirect consequences of family conditions such as poverty that operate on early child development, in part, through the epigenetic consequences of parenting ( Lipinia and Segretin, 2015 ).

This report comes at a time of flux in public policies aimed at supporting parents and their young children. The cost to parents of supporting their children’s healthy development (e.g., the cost of housing, health care, child care, and education) has increased at rates that in many cases have offset the improvements and increases provided for by public policies. As noted above, for example, the number of children living in deep poverty has grown since the mid-1990s ( Sherman and Trisi, 2014 ). While children represent approximately one-quarter of the country’s population, they make up 32 percent of all the country’s citizens who live in poverty ( Child Trends Databank, 2015a ). About one in every five children in the United States is now growing up in families with incomes below the poverty line, and 9 percent of children live in deep poverty (families with incomes below 50%

of the poverty line) ( Child Trends Databank, 2015a ). The risk of growing up poor continues to be particularly high for children in female-headed households; in 2013, approximately 55 percent of children under age 6 in such households lived at or below the poverty threshold, compared with 10 percent of children in married couple families ( DeNavas-Walt and Proctor, 2014 ). Black and Hispanic children are more likely to live in deep poverty (18 and 13%, respectively) compared with Asian and white children (5% each) ( Child Trends Databank, 2015a ). Also noteworthy is that child care policy, including the recent increases in funding for low-income families, ties child care subsidies to employment. Unemployed parents out of school are not eligible, and job loss results in subsidy loss and, in turn, instability in child care arrangements for young children ( Ha et al., 2012 ).

As noted earlier, this report also comes at a time of rapid change in the demographic composition of the country. This change necessitates new understandings of the norms and values within and among groups, the ways in which recent immigrants transition to life in the United States, and the approaches used by diverse cultural and ethnic communities to engage their children during early childhood and utilize institutions that offer them support in carrying out that role. The United States now has the largest absolute number of immigrants in its history ( Grieco et al., 2012 ; Passel and Cohn, 2012 ; U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 ), and the proportion of foreign-born residents today (13.1%) is nearly as high as it was at the turn of the 20th century ( National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2015 ). As of 2014, 25 percent of children ages 0-5 in the United States had at least one immigrant parent, compared with 13.5 percent in 1990 ( Migration Policy Institute, 2016 ). 3 In many urban centers, such as Los Angeles, Miami, and New York City, the majority of the student body of public schools is first- or second-generation immigrant children ( Suárez-Orozco et al., 2008 ).

Immigrants to the United States vary in their countries of origin, their reception in different communities, and the resources available to them. Researchers increasingly have called attention to the wide variation not only among but also within immigrant groups, including varying premigration histories, familiarity with U.S. institutions and culture, and childrearing

3 Shifting demographics in the United States have resulted in increased pressure for service providers to meet the needs of all children and families in a culturally sensitive manner. In many cases, community-level changes have overwhelmed the capacity of local child care providers and health service workers to respond to the language barriers and cultural parenting practices of the newly arriving immigrant groups, particularly if they have endured trauma. For example, many U.S. communities have worked to address the needs of the growing Hispanic population, but it has been documented that in some cases, eligible Latinos are “less likely to access available social services than other populations” ( Helms et al., 2015 ; Wildsmith et al., 2016 ).

strategies ( Crosnoe, 2006 ; Fuller and García Coll, 2010 ; Galindo and Fuller, 2010 ; Suárez-Orozco et al., 2010 ; Takanishi, 2004 ). Immigrants often bring valuable social and human capital to the United States, including unique competencies and sociocultural strengths. Indeed, many young immigrant children display health and learning outcomes better than those of children of native-born parents in similar socioeconomic positions ( Crosnoe, 2013 ). At the same time, however, children with immigrant parents are more likely than children in native-born families to grow up poor ( Hernandez et al., 2008 , 2012 ; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2015 ; Raphael and Smolensky, 2009 ). Immigrant parents’ efforts to raise healthy children also can be thwarted by barriers to integration that include language, documentation, and discrimination ( Hernandez et al., 2012 ; Yoshikawa, 2011 ).

The increase in the nation’s racial and ethnic diversity over the past several decades, related in part to immigration, is a trend that is expected to continue ( Colby and Ortman, 2015 ; Taylor, 2014 ). Between 2000 and 2010, the percentage of Americans identifying as black, Hispanic, Asian, or “other” increased from 15 percent to 36 percent of the population ( U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 ). Over this same time, the percentage of non-Hispanic white children under age 10 declined from 60 percent to 52 percent, while the percentage of Hispanic ethnicity (of any race) grew from about 19 percent to 25 percent ( U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 ); the percentages of black/African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian children under age 10 remained relatively steady (at about 15%, 1%, and 4-5%, respectively); and the percentages of children in this age group identifying as two or more races increased from 3 percent to 5 percent ( U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 ).

The above-noted shifts in the demographic landscape with regard to family structure, including increases in divorce rates and cohabitation, new types of parental relationships, and the involvement of grandparents and other relatives in the raising of children ( Cancian and Reed, 2008 ; Fremstad and Boteach, 2015 ), have implications for how best to support families. Between 1960 and 2014, the percentage of children under age 18 who lived with two married parents (biological, nonbiological, or adoptive) decreased from approximately 85 percent to 64 percent. In 1960, 8 percent of children lived in households headed by single mothers; by 2014, that figure had tripled to about 24 percent ( Child Trends Databank, 2015b ; U.S. Census Bureau, 2016 ). Meanwhile, the proportions of children living with only their fathers or with neither parent (with either relatives or non-relatives) have remained relatively steady since the mid-1980s, at about 4 percent (see Figure 1-2 ). Black children are significantly more likely to live in households headed by single mothers and also are more likely to live in households where neither parent is present. In 2014, 34 percent of black

children lived with two parents, compared with 58 percent of Hispanic children, 75 percent of white children, and 85 percent of Asian children ( Child Trends Databank, 2015b ).

From 1996 to 2015, the number of cohabiting couples with children rose from 1.2 million to 3.3 million ( Child Trends Databank, 2015b ). Moreover, data from the National Health Interview Survey show that in 2013, 30,000 children under age 18 had married same-sex parents and 170,000 had unmarried same-sex parents, and between 1.1 and 2.0 million were being raised by a parent who identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual but was not part of a couple ( Gates, 2014 ).

More families than in years past rely on kinship care (full-time care of children by family members other than parents or other adults with whom children have a family-like relationship). When parents are unable to care for their children because of illness, military deployment, incarceration, child abuse, or other reasons, kinship care can help cultivate familial and community bonds, as well as provide children with a sense of stability and belonging ( Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2012 ; Winokur et al., 2014 ). It is estimated that the number of children in kinship care grew six times the rate of the number of children in the general population over the past decade ( Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2012 ). In 2014, 7 percent of children lived in households headed by grandparents, as compared with 3 percent in 1970 ( Child Trends Databank, 2015b ), and as of 2012, about 10 percent of American children lived in a household where a grandparent was present ( Ellis and Simmons, 2014 ). Black children are twice as likely as the overall population of children to live in kinship arrangements, with about 20 percent of black children spending time in kinship care at some point

during their childhood ( Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2012 ). Beyond kinship care, about 400,000 U.S. children under age 18 are in foster care with about one-quarter of these children living with relatives ( Child Trends Databank, 2015c ). Of the total number of children in foster care, 7 percent are under age 1, 33 percent are ages 1-5, and 23 percent are ages 6-10 ( Child Trends Databank, 2015c ). Other information about the structure of American families is more difficult to come by. For example, there is a lack of data with which to assess trends in the number of children who are raised by extended family members through informal arrangements as opposed to through the foster care system.

As noted earlier, fathers, including biological fathers and other male caregivers, have historically been underrepresented in parenting research despite their essential role in the development of young children. Young children with involved and nurturing fathers develop better linguistic and cognitive skills and capacities, including academic readiness, and are more emotionally secure and have better social connections with peers as they get older ( Cabrera and Tamis-LeMonda, 2013 ; Harris and Marmer, 1996 ; Lamb, 2004 ; Pruett, 2000 ; Rosenberg and Wilcox, 2006 ; Yeung et al., 2000 ). Conversely, children with disengaged fathers have been found to be more likely to develop behavioral problems ( Amato and Rivera, 1999 ; Ramchandani et al., 2013 ). With both societal shifts in gender roles and increased attention to fathers’ involvement in childrearing in recent years, fathers have assumed greater roles in the daily activities associated with raising young children, such as preparing and eating meals with them, reading to and playing and talking with them, and helping them with homework ( Bianchi et al., 2007 ; Cabrera et al., 2011 ; Jones and Mosher, 2013 ; Livingston and Parker, 2011 ). In two-parent families, 16 percent of fathers were stay-at-home parents in 2012, compared with 10 percent in 1989; 21 percent of these fathers stayed home specifically to care for their home or family, up from 5 percent in 1989 ( Livingston, 2014 ). At the same time, however, fewer fathers now live with their biological children because of increases in nonmarital childbearing (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015).

In addition, as alluded to earlier, parents of young children face trans-formative changes in technology that can have a strong impact on parenting and family life ( Collier, 2014 ). Research conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project shows that, relative to other household configurations, married parents with children under age 18 use the Internet and cell phones, own computers, and adopt broadband at higher rates ( Duggan and Lenhart, 2015 ). Other types of households, however, such as single-parent and unmarried multiadult households, also show high usage of technology, particularly text messaging and social media ( Smith, 2015 ). Research by the Pew Research Center (2014) shows that many parents—25 percent in

one survey ( Duggan et al., 2015 )—view social media as a useful source of parenting information.

At the same time, however, parents also are saturated with information and faced with the difficulty of distinguishing valid information from fallacies and myths about raising children ( Aubrun and Grady, 2003 ; Center on Media and Human Development, 2014 ; Dworkin et al., 2013 ; Future of Children, 2008 ). Given the number and magnitude of innovations in media and communications technologies, parents may struggle with understanding the optimal use of technology in the lives of their children.

Despite engagement with Internet resources, parents still report turning to family, friends, and physicians more often than to online sources such as Websites, blogs, and social network sites for parenting advice ( Center on Media and Human Development, 2014 ). Although many reports allude to the potentially harmful effects of media and technology, parents generally do not report having many concerns or family conflicts regarding their children’s media use. On the other hand, studies have confirmed parents’ fears about an association between children’s exposure to violence in media and increased anxiety ( Funk, 2005 ), desensitization to violence ( Engelhardt et al., 2011 ), and aggression ( Willoughby et al., 2012 ). And although the relationship between media use and childhood obesity is challenging to disentangle, studies have found that children who spend more time with media are more likely to be overweight than children who do not (see Chapter 2 ) ( Bickham et al., 2013 ; Institute of Medicine, 2011 ; Kaiser Family Foundation, 2004 ).

The benefits of the information age have included reduced barriers to knowledge for both socially advantaged and disadvantaged groups. Yet despite rapidly decreasing costs of many technologies (e.g., smartphones, tablets, and computers), parents of lower socioeconomic position and from racial and ethnic minority groups are less likely to have access to and take advantage of these resources ( Center on Media and Human Development, 2014 ; File and Ryan, 2014 ; Institute of Medicine, 2006 ; Perrin and Duggan, 2015 ; Smith, 2015 ; Viswanath et al., 2012 ). A digital divide also exists between single-parent and two-parent households, as the cost of a computer and monthly Internet service can be more of a financial burden for the former families, which on average have lower household incomes ( Allen and Rainie, 2002 ; Dworkin et al., 2013 ).

STUDY APPROACH

The committee’s approach to its charge consisted of a review of the evidence in the scientific literature and several other information-gathering activities.

Evidence Review

The committee conducted an extensive review of the scientific literature pertaining to the questions raised in its statement of task ( Box 1-2 ). It did not undertake a full review of all parenting-related studies because it was tasked with providing a targeted report that would direct stakeholders to best practices and succinctly capture the state of the science. The committee’s literature review entailed English-language searches of databases including, but not limited to, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Medline, the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science. Additional literature and other resources were identified by committee members and project staff using traditional academic research methods and online searches. The committee focused its review on research published in peer-reviewed journals and books (including individual studies, review articles, and meta-analyses), as well as reports issued by government agencies and other organizations. The committee’s review was concentrated primarily, although not entirely, on research conducted in the United States, occasionally drawing on research from other Western countries (e.g., Germany and Australia), and rarely on research from other countries.

In reviewing the literature and formulating its conclusions and recommendations, the committee considered several, sometimes competing, dimensions of empirical work: internal validity, external validity, practical significance, and issues of implementation, such as scale-up with fidelity ( Duncan et al., 2007 ; McCartney and Rosenthal, 2000 ; Rosenthal and Rosnow, 2007 ).

With regard to internal validity , the committee viewed random-assignment experiments as the primary model for establishing cause- and-effect relationships between variables with manipulable causes (e.g., Rosenthal and Rosnow, 2007 ; Shadish et al., 2001 ). Given the relatively limited body of evidence from experimental studies in the parenting literature, however, the committee also considered findings from quasi-experimental studies (including those using regression discontinuity, instrumental variables, and difference-in-difference techniques based on natural experiments) ( Duncan et al., 2007 ; Foster, 2010 ; McCartney et al., 2006 ) and from observational studies, a method that can be used to test logical propositions inherent to causal inference, rule out potential sources of bias, and assess the sensitivity of results to assumptions regarding study design and measurement. These include longitudinal studies and limited cross-sectional studies. Although quasi- and nonexperimental studies may fail to meet the “gold standard” of randomized controlled trials for causal inference, studies with a variety of internal validity strengths and weaknesses can collectively provide useful evidence on causal influences ( Duncan et al., 2014 ).

When there are different sources of evidence, often with some differences in estimates of the strength of the evidence, the committee used its collective experience to integrate the information and draw reasoned conclusions.

With regard to external validity , the committee attempted to take into account the extent to which findings can be generalized across population groups and situations. This entailed considering the demographic, socioeconomic, and other characteristics of study participants; whether variables were assessed in the real-world contexts in which parents and children live (e.g., in the home, school, community); whether study findings build the knowledge base with regard to both efficacy (i.e., internal validity in highly controlled settings) and effectiveness (i.e., positive net treatment effects in ecologically valid settings); and issues of cultural competence ( Bracht and Glass, 1968 ; Bronfenbrenner, 2009 ; Cook and Campbell, 1979 ; Harrison and List, 2004 ; Lerner et al., 2000 ; Rosenthal and Rosnow, 2007 ; Whaley and Davis, 2007 ). However, the research literature is limited in the extent to which generalizations across population groups and situations are examined.

With regard to practical significance , the committee considered the magnitude of likely causal impacts within both an empirical context (i.e., measurement, design, and method) and an economic context (i.e., benefits relative to costs), and with attention to the salience of outcomes (e.g., how important an outcome is for promoting child well-being) ( Duncan et al., 2007 ; McCartney and Rosenthal, 2000 ). As discussed elsewhere in this report, however, the committee found limited economic evidence with which to draw conclusions about investing in interventions at scale or to weigh the costs and benefits of interventions. (See the discussion of other information-gathering activities below.) Also with respect to practical significance, the committee considered the manipulability of the variables under consideration in real-world contexts, given that the practical significance of study results depend on whether the variables examined are represented or experienced commonly or uncommonly among particular families ( Fabes et al., 2000 ).

Finally, the committee took into account issues of implementation , such as whether interventions can be brought to and sustained at scale ( Durlak and DuPre, 2008 ; Halle et al., 2013 ). Experts in the field of implementation science emphasize not only the evidence behind programs but also the fundamental roles of scale-up, dissemination planning, and program monitoring and evaluation. Scale-up in turn requires attending to the ability to implement adaptive program practices in response to heterogeneous, real-world contexts, while also ensuring fidelity for the potent levers of change or prevention ( Franks and Schroeder, 2013 ). Thus, the committee relied on both evidence on scale-up, dissemination, and sustainability from empirically based programs and practices that have been implemented and

evaluated, and more general principles of implementation science, including considerations of capacity and readiness for scale-up and sustainability at the macro (e.g., current national politics) and micro (e.g., community resources) levels.

The review of the evidence conducted for this study, especially pertaining to strategies that work at the universal, targeted, and intensive levels to strengthen parenting capacity (questions 2 and 3 from the committee’s statement of task [ Box 1-2 ]), also entailed searches of several databases that, applying principles similar to those described above, assess the strength of the evidence for parenting-related programs and practices: the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP), supported by SAMHSA; the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which is funded by the state of California; and Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development, which has multiple funding sources. Although each of these databases is unique with respect to its history, sponsors, and objectives (NREPP covers mental health and substance abuse interventions, CEBC is focused on evidence relevant to child welfare, and Blueprints describes programs designed to promote the health and well-being of children), all are recognized nationally and internationally and undergo a rigorous review process.

The basic principles of evaluation and classification and the processes for classification of evidence-based practices are common across NREPP, CEBC, and Blueprints. Each has two top categories—optimal and promising—for programs and practices (see Appendix B ; see also Burkhardt et al., 2015 ; Means et al., 2015 ; Mihalic and Elliot, 2015 ; Soydan et al., 2010 ). Given the relatively modest investment in research on programs for parents and young children, however, the array of programs that are highly rated remains modest. For this reason, the committee considered as programs with the most robust evidence not only those included in the top two categories of Blueprints and CEBC but also those with an average rating of 3 or higher in NREPP. The committee’s literature searches also captured well-supported programs that are excluded from these databases (e.g., because they are recent and/or have not been submitted for review) but have sound theoretical underpinnings and rely on well-recognized intervention and implementation mechanisms.

Other reputable information sources used in producing specific portions of this report were What Works for Health (within the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps Program, a joint effort of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin); the What Works Clearinghouse of the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Services; and HHS’s Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) review.

In addition, the committee chose to consider findings from research using methodological approaches that are emerging as a source of innovation and improvement. These approaches are gaining momentum in parent-

ing research and are being developed and funded by the federal government and private philanthropy. Examples are breakthrough series collaborative approaches, such as the Home Visiting Collaborative Innovation and Improvement Network to Reduce Infant Mortality, and designs such as factorial experiments that have been used to address topics relevant to this study.

Other Information-Gathering Activities

The committee held two open public information-gathering sessions to hear from researchers, practitioners, parents, and other stakeholders on topics germane to this study and to supplement the expertise of the committee members (see Appendix A for the agendas of these open sessions). Material from these open sessions is referenced in this report where relevant.

As noted above, the committee’s task included making recommendations related to promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective strategies for supporting parents and the salient knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Cost is an important consideration for the implementation of parenting programs at scale. Therefore, the committee commissioned a paper reviewing the available economic evidence for investing in parenting programs at scale to inform its deliberations on this portion of its charge. Findings and excerpts from this paper are integrated throughout Chapters 3 through 6 . The committee also commissioned a second paper summarizing evidence-based strategies used by health care systems and providers to help parents acquire and sustain knowledge, attitudes, and practices that promote healthy child development. The committee drew heavily on this paper in developing sections of the report on universal/preventive and targeted interventions for parents in health care settings. Lastly, a commissioned paper on evidence-based strategies to support parents of children with mental illness formed the basis for a report section on this population. 4

In addition, the committee conducted two sets of group and individual semistructured interviews with parents participating in family support programs at community-based organizations in Omaha, Nebraska, and Washington, D.C. Parents provided feedback on the strengths they bring to parenting, challenges they face, how services for parents can be improved, and ways they prefer to receive parenting information, among other topics. Excerpts from these interviews are presented throughout this report as “Parent Voices” to provide real-world examples of parents’ experiences and to supplement the discussion of particular concepts and the committee’s findings.

4 The papers commissioned by the committee are in the public access file for the study and can be requested at https://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/ManageRequest.aspx?key=49669 [October 2016].

TERMINOLOGY AND STUDY PARAMETERS

As specified in the statement of task for this study ( Box 1-2 ), the term “parents” refers in this report to those individuals who are the primary caregivers of young children in the home. Therefore, the committee reviewed studies that involved not only biolofical and adoptive parents but also relative/kinship providers (e.g., grandparents), stepparents, foster parents, and other types of caregivers, although research is sparse on unique issues related to nontraditional caregivers. The terms “knowledge,” “attitudes,” and “practices” and the relationships among them were discussed earlier in this chapter, and further detail can be found in Chapter 2 ).

The committee recognized that to a certain degree, ideas about what is considered effective parenting vary across cultures and ecological conditions, including economies, social structures, religious beliefs, and moral values ( Cushman, 1995 ). To address this variation, and in accordance with its charge, the committee examined research on how core parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices differ by specific characteristics of children, parents, and contexts. However, because the research on parenting has traditionally underrepresented several populations (e.g., caregivers other than mothers), the evidence on which the committee could draw to make these comparisons was limited.

The committee interpreted “evidence-based/informed strategies” very broadly as ranging from teaching a specific parenting skill, to manualized parenting programs, to policies that may affect parenting. The term “interventions” is generally used in this report to refer to all types of strategies, while more specific terms (e.g., “program,” “well-child care”) are used to refer to particular types or sets of interventions. Also, recognizing that nearly every facet of society has a role to play in supporting parents and ensuring that children realize their full potential, the committee reviewed not only strategies designed expressly for parents (e.g., parenting skills training) but also, though to a lesser degree, programs and policies not designed specifically for parents that may nevertheless affect an individual’s capacity to parent (e.g., food assistance and housing programs, health care policies).

As noted earlier in this chapter, this report was informed by a life-course perspective on parenting, given evidence from neuroscience and a range of related research that the early years are a critical period in shaping how individuals fare throughout their lives. The committee also aimed to take a strengths/assets-based approach (e.g., to identify strategies that build upon the existing assets of parents), although the extent to which this approach could be applied was limited by the paucity of research examining parenting from this perspective.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

A number of principles guided this study. First, following the ideas of Dunst and Espe-Sherwindt (2016) , the distinction between two types of family-centered practices—relational and participatory—informed the committee’s thinking. Relational practices are those focused primarily on intervening with families using compassion, active and reflective listening, empathy, and other techniques. Participatory practices are those that actively engage families in decision making and aim to improve families’ capabilities. In addition, family-centered practices focused on the context of successful parenting are a key third form of support for parenting. A premise of the committee is that many interventions with the most troubled families and children will require all these types of services—often delivered concurrently over a lengthy period of time.

Second, many programs are designed to serve families at particular risk for problems related to cognitive and social-emotional development, health, and well-being. Early Head Start and Head Start, for example, are means tested and designed for low-income families most of whom are known to face not just one risk factor (low income) but also others that often cluster together (e.g., living in dangerous neighborhoods, exposure to trauma, social isolation, unfamiliarity with the dominant culture or language). Special populations addressed in this report typically are at very high risk because of this exposure to multiple risk factors. Research has shown that children in such families have the poorest outcomes, in some instances reaching a level of toxic stress that seriously impairs their developmental functioning ( Shonkoff and Garner, 2012 ). Of course, in addition to characterizing developmental risk, it is essential to understand the corresponding adaptive processes and protective factors, as it is the balance of risk and protective factors that determines outcomes. In many ways, supporting parents is one way to attempt to change that balance.

From an intervention point of view, several principles are central. First, intervention strategies need to be designed to have measurable effects over time and to be sustainable. Second, it is necessary to focus on the needs of individual families and to tailor interventions to achieve desired outcomes. The importance of personalized approaches is widely acknowledged in medicine, education, and other areas. An observation perhaps best illustrated in the section on parents of children with developmental disabilities in Chapter 5 , although the committee believes this approach applies to many of the programs described in this report. A corresponding core principle of intervention is viewing parents as equal partners, experts in what both they and their children need. It is important as well that multiple kinds of services for families be integrated and coordinated. As illustrated earlier

in Box 1-1 , families may be receiving interventions from multiple sources delivered in different places, making coordination all the more important.

A useful framework for thinking about interventions is described in the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine (2009) report Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders among Young People . Prevention interventions encompass mental health promotion: universal prevention, defined as interventions that are valuable for all children; selected prevention, aimed at populations at high risk (such as children whose parents have mental illness); and indicated prevention, focused on children already manifesting symptoms. Treatment interventions include case identification, standard treatment for known disorders, accordance of long-term treatment with the goal of reduction in relapse or occurrence, and aftercare and rehabilitation ( National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2009 ).

The committee recognizes that engaging and retaining children and families in parenting interventions are critical challenges. A key to promoting such engagement may be cultural relevance. Families representing America’s diverse array of cultures, languages, and experiences are likely to derive the greatest benefit from interventions designed and implemented to allow for flexibility.

Finally, the question of widespread implementation and dissemination of parenting interventions is critically important. Given the cost of testing evidence-based parenting programs, the development of additional programs needs to be built on the work that has been done before. Collectively, interventions also are more likely to achieve a significant level of impact if they incorporate some of the elements of prior interventions. In any case, a focus on the principles of implementation and dissemination clearly is needed. As is discussed in this report, the committee calls for more study and experience with respect to taking programs to scale.

REPORT ORGANIZATION

This report is divided into eight chapters. Chapter 2 examines desired outcomes for children and reviews the existing research on parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices that support positive parent-child interactions and child outcomes. Based on the available research, this chapter identifies a set of core knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Chapter 3 provides a brief overview of some of the major federally funded programs and policies that support parents in the United States. Chapters 4 and 5 describe evidence-based and evidence-informed strategies for supporting parents and enabling the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices, including universal and widely used interventions ( Chapter 4 ) and interventions targeted to parents of children with special needs and parents who themselves face adversities

( Chapter 5 ). Chapter 6 reviews elements of effective programs for strengthening parenting capacity and parents’ participation and retention in effective programs and systems. Chapter 7 describes a national framework for supporting parents of young children. Finally, Chapter 8 presents the committee’s conclusions and recommendations for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective intervention strategies and parenting practices linked to healthy child outcomes, as well as areas for future research.

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Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the family—which includes all primary caregivers—are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger.

Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting.

Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

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How To Write An Essay On ‘My Parents’ for Classes 1, 2 and 3

Key Points to Remember When Writing an Essay on ‘My Parents’ for Classes 1, 2 and 3

10-line essay on ‘my parents’, short essay on ‘my parents’, long paragraph on ‘my parents’ for kids, what your 1st, 2nd or 3rd grader will learn from the essay.

Parents are the backbone of every child. Children learn most things from their parents because parents are every child’s first teachers. Kids connect with their parents in various ways. They observe them and don’t shy away from imitating them because their parents are their role models. So, when it comes to penning down their thoughts and feelings on their parents, most children take to it instantly because it is a topic they can relate to and enjoy writing about. This is why an essay on ‘My Parents’ is commonly assigned to children in classes 1,2 & 3. But, some kids may struggle to express themselves while writing the composition. If your child is one of them, here are some ways they can unleash their inner author and get their creative juices flowing on paper.

The first step to help children write creatively is to get them to share their ideas on the topic and build them organically. They may also read to be able to write better, but their observation of their parents would help them make the essay unique. Below are some more key points to remember:

When you want to write a paragraph about your parents, you need to vocalise your personal feelings for them.
It is important to describe your parents as individuals, their influence and their attributes which are the driving forces.
Create a mental outline about how you want the essay to flow.
Start with an introduction, describe your parents, detail their roles, and elaborate on their influence.
While describing, it is important to mention what the parents do.
Make sure to write about how they manage their personal and professional lives.
Ensure to highlight any points about their strengths and how they motivate you.
Speak about the important events and occasions that you spend with your parents.
Mention any key secret that keeps you and your family happy.
Write a strong conclusion about how children learn from parents and must be there for them.

Children in classes 1 and 2 would have just begun their journey into the basics of creative writing. More than writing an essay or a paragraph, they will be asked to express points on the topic. Read on for some tips to help them get started:

My father and mother are the best parents.
My father is a banker, and my mother is a teacher.
My parents work very hard for the family and take care of us.
They look after the house and make sure they keep it neat and clean.
They share the responsibility to help me with my studies.
My parents are active, and they ride the bike, play football, and board games with me.
My parents love to cook. They help each other every day and cook delicious and healthy meals.
My parents and I love celebrating festivals, and we decorate the whole house together.
My parents take me out to parks, restaurants, and cinemas.
I love my parents as they do so much for me and look after me.

Children in grades 2 and 3 can be a bit more expressive than first graders. Here’s an example of a short essay on the topic for you:

Parents are our best friends. We owe everything to our parents as they are the ones who bring us into the world. Like everyone, my parents are the most important people in my life. They make my life so simple and easy. I learn a lot from them, and they inspire me. My father is an engineer. He works for a large company. My mother is a banker. Both my parents rise early to ensure that my sister and I get to school on time. My father helps us get ready for school, and my mother starts cooking our breakfast and packing our lunch boxes. After they come home, my parents start preparing for the evening. They alternate the job of cooking and helping my sister and me with our studies. Once we finish dinner, we sit together as a family and watch TV. We make sure that we spend time together as a family every day, and over the weekends, we go out together to the park or the restaurant. My parents also make sure that we celebrate festivals and special occasions together. My parents work hard to have a good life, and they are my guiding force.

By class 3, children have a better understanding of the topic. They can also elaborate better and have a constructive template for their write-ups. They should ideally be able to write an introduction, main body and conclusion. Here’s a sample for you:

A gift, a blessing, or a miracle – parents can be anything you want them to be. Parents sacrifice their entire life for their children to ensure that we get the best opportunities to lead good lives. They inspire us to be responsible, caring, loving, and respectful.

My parents are very special to me. My father is a professor in a college and did not have an easy childhood. He had to face many difficulties and managed to complete his education to become a professor. He loves his work and strives hard to make a living and make our lives comfortable. He also takes tuitions for poor children for a small fee to help them achieve their dreams. He takes my lessons every day and also enjoys playing games with me. He teaches me how to play cricket as he is a fan of the sport himself.

My mother is a housewife but takes tuition for children every evening. She gave up her career to look after me and started tutoring children at home. She decided to become a tutor to help my father with his expenses and save for my future. She spends her entire day looking after the house and doing household chores. Every evening, when my father and I return, she has a host of dishes prepared for us to eat. My parents make sure that we spend some time together as a family before going to bed. We either read the newspaper or a book before going to bed. We also spend some leisure time going out to the park, restaurant or cinemas over the weekends. My parents do everything to make my life comfortable and help me do my best at home and school.

It is a blessing to have parents as we learn a lot from them. They teach us qualities like sacrifice, love, affection, and respect, which help us become responsible members of society. It is important to listen to parents as they will always speak for our good. I feel lucky to have my parents by my side, who teach me to become a better version of myself every day.

A composition on ‘My Parents’ is the best way to let a child’s imagination flow and their ideas transform into words. Children are very expressive in their speech, but it isn’t easy to write everything down. With some guidance, writing an essay or a few lines on this topic will help them channel their thoughts and feelings and improve their observation skills. Writing also gives kids a confidence boost, consolidates their literacy skills, and applies their reading skills in practice.

Most writers polish their writing skills by drafting essays. The examples given above would give your child the much-needed jumpstart to explore the world of writing. With these tips, your child can learn to develop ideas, plan their essays, write exciting details and make the final edits to write a brilliant essay.

Essay On My Father for Class 1, 2 and 3 Kids Essay On ‘My Teacher’ for Class 1 to 3 Children My Favourite Game Essay for Lower Primary Classes

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Sample Parent Statement for Private School Admissions

We love sharing practical tips about crafting parent statements on the Admit NY blog - check out our five top tips for writing parent statements here , and our expanded guide to parent statement structure here .

Sometimes, though, the most helpful way for parents to conceptualize their parent statement is to read a sample. Look no further! Here’s a great sample parent statement that addresses all of the key points that private school admissions officers are looking for.

Note that this is a fictional parent statement describing a fictional student.

Sample Parent Statement for High School Applicants

Prompt: please tell us about your child and why you believe [school] would be a good fit for him/her..

Morgan’s most defining quality is that he does not do anything halfway. This has been the case ever since he was a young child: if he started a complicated LEGO set or a science fiction book, he just had to get it done and wouldn’t rest until he did. Morgan lives for the genuine sense of accomplishment that comes along with a job well done, and that commitment carries through his personal life and his life as a student. Morgan is committed to being there for his friends through thick and thin, and is frequently the first one to call or visit a friend when they’re having a difficult day. At school and in extracurriculars, Morgan dives wholeheartedly, and usually with a smile on his face, into each project he takes on and won’t give up until he achieves the result he’s looking for.

Morgan’s commitment to participating fully in each area of his life, and achieving his goals, was gravely tested during the last year and a half of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like all of us, Morgan struggled for a beat in the early weeks of the pandemic with the sudden distance from his friends and shift to remote learning. But Morgan was quickly back in the saddle, strategizing how to continue doing his best given the changing circumstances. Morgan took the lead on organizing weekly friend hangout sessions with several of his classmates, and the group steadily expanded to reach almost 20 students connecting on Zoom for upwards of two hours each Thursday evening. While many other students resigned themselves to severely limited academic progress in the spring of 2020, Morgan wouldn’t accept it. He emailed his teachers and met with them virtually to plan the best way to maintain his progress toward the goals he’d set at the beginning of the semester. Throughout it all, Morgan was upbeat, sunny, and focused on making the most out of a difficult situation. We were incredibly proud of the way his core commitment to living life to its fullest shone through even in the world’s darkest moments.

The academic pursuits that Morgan was particularly passionate about keeping up during the pandemic were his math and science classes. Morgan is deeply invested in STEM, and has a natural aptitude for numbers and scientific thinking. Math, particularly algebra, is very satisfying to Morgan; it might be because the sense of accomplishment that comes along with solving a difficult algebra formula mirrors that sense of accomplishment Morgan enjoys when he brings any sort of project to completion.

While math and science are Morgan’s favorite subjects, he is a well-rounded student with strong skills in English. Morgan has been a voracious reader since first grade, and it was difficult to provide a steady enough stream of books during the pandemic to satisfy his increased capacity for reading. (Once again, the satisfaction of turning the last page on a long, fascinating book is one of Morgan’s sincere joys.) One of the creative ways that Morgan brought his friends together during quarantine was a monthly book club. While the students were already reading a couple of classic novels in their English class, they decided that they wanted to venture into science fiction reading as well. Morgan and one of his best friends researched a variety of sci-fi novels, organized them into a selection for each month, and led a monthly book club meeting to discuss their favorite parts. We eavesdropped a little on one of these meetings and heard the boys enthusiastically debating which would be “cooler,” settling on the moon or on Mars, based on a storyline in their most recent novel.

Outside of school and his monthly book club, Morgan is committed to athletics. In his first weeks of middle school, Morgan decided that he wanted to join the cross country team. Morgan had never been seriously involved in sports before, and frankly we (his parents) are not particularly athletic! But a few of Morgan’s friends loved their sports teams, and Morgan was interested in trying something new. So, he began attending cross country practice after school almost every weekday. At first, Morgan didn’t really like running. He was struggling to get through the team’s longer runs, and doing anything halfway is not Morgan’s favorite thing. Progress seemed far off, and we thought that Morgan would ultimately quit cross country. But all of the sudden, Morgan started seeing improvement. In true Morgan fashion, he took the initiative to pick out a running book from the library and read it in three days flat, immediately implementing some improvements to his running stride. Within two months, Morgan was able to finish longer runs, and started inching up the leaderboard at team meets. These days, Morgan is a casual but enthusiastic runner. He knows that he isn’t destined to be the fastest athlete on the team, but he finds real fulfilment in constantly seeking to beat his personal record. After finishing a particularly fast run along the West Side Highway with a friend last week, Morgan got home sweaty, panting, and smiling, and said “I think I’m finally getting the hang of this!”

As Morgan approaches the search for a high school, he is as committed as ever to participating fully in the process and not doing anything halfway. He hopes to join a community of similar students, who are ambitious, kind, passionate learners, and interested in a diverse variety of subjects and activities. Morgan has always enjoyed building relationships with his teachers so we are also seeking a school where teachers are approachable and accessible. Morgan also appreciates an environment where he and his peers are encouraged to take initiative and craft their own projects. For all of these reasons (and many more), we believe that [SCHOOL] would be a great fit for Morgan. With a close-knit and engaged student body that participates in a wide variety of classes and clubs, Morgan would have no problem finding STEM friends, running friends, and reading friends. He would love [SCHOOL]’s independent study program; developing an innovative project idea, recruiting friends to join him, and executing the project all the way through completion are all Morgan’s unique strengths. We feel confident that if Morgan attended [SCHOOL], he would graduate with a broad portfolio of successes that reflect the school’s commitment to helping every student harness their passion, and Morgan’s commitment to doing his very best.

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IELTS Writing Task 2/ Essay Topics with sample answer.

Ielts writing task 2 sample 4 - parents are the best teachers, ielts writing task 2/ ielts essay:, parents are the best teachers., idea generation for this ielts essay:.

Parents are more engaged in their children’s activities than any other person because they spend more time with them than even teachers in schools, so they can find more deeply their children’s personality weaknesses.
Sensationally, they feel closer to their children than any other people are. Bonding helps mothers to love their children more than any other else.
We learn to survive, talk, and distinguish well from bad, values of life, morality and such important other things from our parents.
To care about their children, parents take more responsibility. They feel more responsibility to protect their children from criminals.
Parents are more devoted than the teachers.
Parents would be with a child no matter what.
We learn almost every aspect of life in our childhood from our parents.
There is not any interruption in their teaching, and they continuously teach their children. This can lead them to become more trustful than teachers.
Parents understand the children better and thus play a greater role.
Parents are more capable of instructing the children and guide them well.
It could be far more economical. Instead of spending tremendous money on tuition, Family can save it.
In terms of the theoretical and academic knowledge, parents are usually less professional than the instructors teaching in schools.
Parents are less familiar with the latest training techniques which other tutors use.
A huge generation gap between them, parents and children, may affect the parents’ performance to become perfect teachers.
A conflict between parents and children in schooling may negatively affect their emotional relationship.
Morality, intricacies of life, subject matter knowledge, art, science, history, value of time etc. are often taught by the teachers.
Parents are sometimes too blind to notice the bad side of their children. In this case, teachers make neutral judgments.
Experiences learned from life have a far greater role in life than the things we learn from our parents.
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How to Choose the Ideal Partner for Parenthood

Mate selection is critical for those who desire children..

Updated May 14, 2024 | Reviewed by Davia Sills

The Science of Mating
Find counselling near me
Partner selection is important to parenting success.
Choosing a poor partner can have far-reaching consequences for parents and children.
Qualities like patience and a sincere desire to be a parent can be beneficial to future children.

As a soon-to-be mother of six children, I am constantly asked how I am able to do it. My answer is always the same: The man I married makes it a joyful experience. He even delivered our fourth child himself and treats me with great care and consideration while simultaneously finding exceptional joy in parenting himself. Choosing a man who values family above all gave me a headstart on raising children who thrive.

Too many people find themselves overwhelmed and frustrated with parenting because they did not fully understand the importance of making a thoughtful parenting partner choice. Modern dating is often overly focused on sexual desire, infatuation, and romance. While these aspects of relationship development have value, they overlook one of the most important decisions human beings have to make. The first and most important parenting decision a parent can make is who to have a child with.

We have culturally been so focused on avoiding conflict and telling others that whatever they want to do is OK that we have stopped equipping people with the information they need to reach the goals they want. Who we have children with has far-reaching consequences. Who we create children with is called mate selection. Mate selection is a process whereby individuals choose an appropriate partner for reproduction. It is important to explore the consequences when mate selection is done poorly and what factors to focus on to make a good choice.

There are three main consequences of choosing a poor parenting partner:

1. Parental Conflict and Alienation

Ongoing conflict and tension between parents are common consequences of not prioritizing choosing a good parenting partner. Tensions can lead to one parent preventing or interfering with the relationship the other parent can have with their child. Conflict could lead to legal battles as well, which often come with excessive costs and life disruption. This directly impacts parenting, as parents can become so distracted by the conflict that they have limited time left to focus on child-rearing.

2. Children Learn From Us How to Develop Healthy Parenting Relationships.

The experiences children have with their parents directly influence the decisions they make about future partners and how to parent their future children. Therefore, the choices in partners that parents make often create a lasting legacy for their children. For example, if children experience parents who struggle to communicate or control their emotions, they will likely struggle to do the same. Alternatively, children who come from stably married families tend to themselves develop stable marriages in the future (Howard and Reeves 2014).

3. Long-Term Instability

One of the most important factors in a child’s well-being is stability. Stability is the parent’s maintaining a long-term stable union. Contentious parental relationships often lead to a break in the union between parents.

Parents may also find that their relationship becomes more contentious when children arrive, further demonstrating the importance of making mating choices carefully. Research on marital disruption demonstrates that divorce has a far-reaching impact on subsequent generations. A study looking at three generations found that grandparents’ divorce increased the risk of divorce for their grandchildren, even if they were not yet born when the divorce took place (Amato and Cheadle, 2005).

Now that we have a clear picture of why parental choice is exceptionally consequential, it is crucial to be equipped with tips for how to choose a good co-parent. While what matters to each person may differ, there are some overarching tips that can protect both the health and well-being of both parents and future children.

How to choose the right partner:

1. Make an actual decision; avoid things just happening.

Yes, I am actually advocating for discipline. This is a very simple point. Be purposeful. Choose to see this choice as too important to leave up to chance. Pay attention to and discuss parenting goals, and focus on actions over words.

2. Look for long-term traits of stability instead of short-term pleasure.

Enjoying time on a date with someone does not make them a good parent. Even enjoying sleeping with someone does not make them a good parent. Focus on their character. Are they the person you would want your future children to become?

3. Choose characteristics that matter for parenting.

These may include patience, good communication, a sincere desire to be a parent, having similar parenting goals, and valuing family over their own individual interests.

While no tips are foolproof, as human beings are amazingly complex creatures, we can stack the deck in our favor. Parenting can be made much easier or much harder based on the choices we make before a child is ever conceived. Particularly in modern times, parenting a human being requires skill and support that are invaluable to achieve success. We can no longer hope for the best. We must be strategist and thoughtful, utilizing the incredibly amazing and complex brains we have been given.

Amato, P. R. and Cheadle, J. E. (2005). The long reach of divorce: divorce and child well‐being across three generations. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67(1), 191-206. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-2445.2005.00014.x

Sarrazin, J., & Cyr, F. (2007). Parental Conflicts and Their Damaging Effects on Children. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage , 47 (1–2), 77–93. https://doi.org/10.1300/J087v47n01_05

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-marriage-effect-money-or-parenti…

Calvina Ellerbe, Ph.D., is a college professor, TEDx speaker, and certified parenting coach who lives in North Carolina.

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Essay on Gratitude For Parents

Students are often asked to write an essay on Gratitude For Parents in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Gratitude For Parents

Understanding gratitude.

Gratitude is saying “thank you” for the good things in your life. It is a feeling of being thankful. We should have gratitude for many people in our life. But, our parents deserve it the most. They do so much for us.

Parents Love

Parents love their children more than anything. They work hard to give us a good life. They make sure we are safe, healthy, and happy. They teach us important things. They help us when we are in trouble. For all these things, we should be grateful.

Showing Gratitude

Showing gratitude to our parents is easy. We can say “thank you” often. We can help them with their work. We can listen to their advice. We can respect them. By doing these things, we show our gratitude.

Benefits of Gratitude

Gratitude is not just good for our parents. It is good for us too. It makes us feel happy. It helps us see the good things in our life. It reminds us of how much we are loved. So, let’s be grateful to our parents every day.

250 Words Essay on Gratitude For Parents

Introduction.

Parents are the pillars of our life. They are the ones who bring us into this world, nurture us, and help us grow. They teach us about life, love, and kindness. Our parents are our first teachers and our biggest supporters. It’s important to feel and express gratitude for our parents.

Gratitude means to be thankful. It is about recognizing the good things in life and appreciating them. When we talk about gratitude for parents, it means to be thankful for all that our parents do for us. They work hard to provide us with a safe and comfortable life. They guide us, protect us, and love us unconditionally.

Showing Gratitude to Parents

There are many ways to show gratitude to our parents. Small gestures can mean a lot. We can say thank you to them for the little things they do. We can help them with their work. We can listen to them and respect their advice. We can also show our gratitude by doing well in our studies and activities, as this makes them happy and proud.

The Importance of Gratitude

Feeling and expressing gratitude for our parents is very important. It makes them feel loved and appreciated. It also helps us to understand the value of their efforts. Gratitude helps us to build a strong bond with our parents. It also makes us better people, as it teaches us to be thankful and respectful.

Our parents do so much for us. They deserve our love, respect, and gratitude. Let’s always remember to say thank you to them, for everything they do. Let’s show them that we appreciate their love and care. Let’s make them feel special, every day. After all, our parents are our biggest blessing.

500 Words Essay on Gratitude For Parents

Gratitude for parents is a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation towards our parents. They are the ones who bring us into this world and take care of us with immense love and kindness. They guide us, teach us, and shape us into the individuals we become. This essay will explore the importance of expressing gratitude towards our parents.

Role of Parents

Parents play a crucial role in our lives. From the time we are born, they provide us with everything we need. They feed us, dress us, and comfort us when we are upset. They teach us to walk, talk, and interact with the world around us. They dedicate their time, energy, and resources to our well-being and development. They are our first teachers, teaching us values, manners, and life skills. They guide us through life, helping us make important decisions and supporting us in our endeavors.

Gratitude is a feeling of appreciation for the kindness and benefits we have received. When we express gratitude, we acknowledge the efforts and sacrifices made by others for our benefit. Expressing gratitude towards our parents is important because it acknowledges the love, care, and effort they put into raising us. It shows them that we value and appreciate everything they do for us. It also helps us develop a positive attitude and a sense of contentment in life.

Ways to Express Gratitude

There are many ways to show gratitude towards our parents. We can express our gratitude through words, by telling them how much we appreciate their love and care. We can also show it through actions, by helping them with household chores, spending quality time with them, or doing something special for them. We can also express gratitude by being obedient, respectful, and considerate towards them. By doing so, we not only show our appreciation, but also make them feel loved and valued.

In conclusion, gratitude for parents is a powerful and important emotion. It helps us acknowledge the efforts and sacrifices our parents make for us, and shows them that we appreciate and value their love and care. By expressing gratitude, we strengthen our relationship with our parents, and cultivate a positive and contented outlook on life. So, let’s make it a habit to express our gratitude to our parents regularly, for it is the least we can do to acknowledge their unconditional love and sacrifices.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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To the moms all alone on Mother's Day, I see you and you are enough.

Most of my 14 years of motherhood felt like Mother’s Day was spent alone, including some of the years I was married.

Every May, when the second Sunday in May comes around, I think of the women who are where I was in multiple places of my mother journey: scared, alone and envious of the moms with a supportive partner at home.

This year, I've written a letter to every single mother struggling to celebrate herself today, who feels inferior to the other families she sees.

When the flowers don't come, when there are no "thank yous," when there is no one posting our picture, I want us to remember where our gift truly lies.

To our kids, this is the life and this love is enough. So, we can raise our glass.

Dear, single mom on Mother's Day

Maybe you woke up a little early today to give yourself the gift of solitude. There is no one to tag in at the end of the day. It’s exhausting.

You might get a few minutes before feelings of inadequacy come flooding in. You are reminded of all the things you can't do, never seeing all that you have. You wonder how a single-parent home is affecting your kids, who will be down in a matter of moments.

Then, the day will begin just like any other day.

Maybe there were once flowers waiting for you. Maybe there were never flowers at all. You may find crumpled up Mother's Day art in your kids' backpack today, but they may not recognize that there should be anything to celebrate.

You will prepare every meal, answer every request, create every moment, wipe every tear and calm every fear. But your requests will be left unmet, your moments 60 seconds at a time, your tears wiped by your own hand and your fears, ever ponding.

Yet every day you show up and you do it, maybe with a little envy for the two-parent home down the street, because it's hard to be a full-time parent and a full-time provider. You can't possibly do either perfectly well.

If you're feeling discouraged today, seeing only your lack, look inside.

You are the creator of all the good that you see.

Tonight, when you tuck in your kids, witness your gifts.

There may have not been anything on the table this morning, you may have cleaned up the house and cooked every meal, but there is peace in the room. There is joy on their faces. There is a tangible love providing security like the blanket wrapped around their feet.

Your family is not inferior.

You are enough. Your kids know it, and some day someone else will too.

But it has to start with you.

My son was feeling left behind: What kids with autistic siblings want you to know.

Your married friend may be struggling, too

Single mothers should know that married mothers aren't necessarily better supported. Sure, they may have flowers, but just like you, they have learned how to water themselves.

There were Mother's Days when all I felt was hollow. There were flowers, photos, dinners and lots of hugs, but it obscured a darker reality. Presence doesn't equal support. Lonely doesn't equal alone.

Knowing my "enoughness" led me back into singleness and back to the mother I've always been. So, cherish where you are and never trade your peace for support. Recognize yourself and celebrate this day.

Last year, I bought myself a bouquet of wildflowers, and this year, I bought myself a few.

My gift is this home I've created and the peace I feel at night. Sure, it may be a little messy, but it is far from inferior.

When I release my kids into the world, they will take this love that they've been given and begin planting it in places of their own, definitely better than if they had grown up in our broken two-parent home.

Yet I know that you, like me, may have a desire to share your life with someone. Just make sure that they are a seer too, a seer of your worth and your "enoughness," on more than just this special day.

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Guest Essay

The Best College Is One Where You Don’t Fit In

Two people walking down a pathway on an otherwise seemingly empty college campus.

By Michael S. Roth

Mr. Roth is the president of Wesleyan University.

This time of year, college campuses like the one where I live fill up with high school seniors preparing to make what feels like a momentous choice. The first imperative is to find a school that they can afford, but beyond that, many students have been advised to find one where they can see themselves. Too often, they take this to mean finding a place with students like them, even students who look like them — a place where they will feel comfortable. I can’t tell you how many families have described driving many hours to a campus somewhere and having their daughter or son say something like: “We don’t need to get out. I can tell already this isn’t for me.”

“How about the info session?” the patient parent asks.

Choosing a college based on where you feel comfortable is a mistake. The most rewarding forms of education make you feel very uncomfortable, not least because they force you to recognize your own ignorance. Students should hope to encounter ideas and experience cultural forms that push them beyond their current opinions and tastes. Sure, revulsion is possible (and one can learn from that), but so is the discovery that your filtered ways of taking in the world had blocked out things in which you now delight. One learns from that, too.

Either way, a college education should enable you to discover capabilities you didn’t even know you had while deepening those that provide you with meaning and direction. To discover these capabilities is to practice freedom, the opposite of trying to figure out how to conform to the world as it is. Tomorrow the world will be different anyway. Education should help you find ways of shaping change, not just ways of coping with it.

These days, the first thing that campus visitors may notice are protests over the war in Gaza. These will be attractive to some who see in them an admirable commitment to principle and off-putting to those who see evidence of groupthink or intimidation. Any campus should be a “ safe enough space ,” one free of harassment and intimidation, but not one where identities and beliefs are just reinforced. That’s why it’s profoundly disturbing to hear of Jewish students afraid to move about because of the threat of verbal and physical abuse. And that’s why it’s inspiring to see Muslim and Jewish students camped out together to protest a war they think is unjust.

Refusing to conform can mean being rebellious, but it can also mean just going against the grain, like being unabashedly religious in a very secular institution or being the conservative or libertarian voice in classes filled with progressives. I recently asked one such student if he perceived any faculty bias. “Don’t worry about me,” he replied. “My professors find me fascinating.” Some of the military veterans who’ve attended my liberal arts university have disrupted the easy prejudices of their progressive peers while finding themselves working in areas they’d never expected to be interested in.

Over the years, I’ve found nonconformists to be the most interesting people to have in my classes; I’ve also found that they often turn out to be the people who add the greatest value to the organizations in which they work. I’m thinking of Kendall, a computer science major I had in a philosophy class whom I saw on campus recently because she was directing an ambitious musical. When I expressed my admiration at her unlikely combination of interests, she was almost insulted by my surprise and enthusiasm. Had I really stereotyped her as someone not interested in the arts just because she excels in science?

Or take the student activist (please!) who a couple of years after leading a demonstration to the president’s office made an appointment to meet with me. I was worried about new political demands, but she had something else in mind: getting a recommendation for law school. I could, she reminded me with a smile, write about her leadership abilities on campus. And I did.

Of course, even students who refuse to fall in with the herd should learn how to listen and speak to it and to various groups different from their own. That’s an increasingly valuable capacity, and it will help them make their way in the world, whatever school they attend, whatever their major.

Side by side, students should learn how to be full human beings, not mere appendages, and this means continually questioning what they are doing and learning from one another. “Truly speaking,” Ralph Waldo Emerson said about a century ago, “it is not instruction, but provocation, that I can receive from another soul.” That’s why the colleges — large public institutions or small faith-based colleges or anything in between — that nurture and respond to the energies of their students are the ones that feel most intellectually alive.

So, what makes a school the right one? It’s not the prestige of a name or the campus amenities. First and foremost, it’s the teachers. Great teachers help make a college great because they themselves are never done being students. Sure, there are plenty of schools filled with faculty members who think alike, who relish the bubble of fellowship in received opinion. A college can make being weird or radical into adolescent orthodoxy. These places should be avoided. By contrast, there are colleges with great teachers who practice freedom by activating wonder, a capacity for appreciation and a taste for inquiry — and who do so because they themselves seek out these broadening experiences. You can feel their own nonconformity as they try to provoke their students away from the various forms of received opinion.

Finding the right college will often mean finding these kinds of people — classmates and mentors, perpetual students who seek open-ended learning that brings joy and meaning. That’s what young people checking out schools should really be looking for: not a place merely to fit in but a place to practice freedom in good company.

Michael S. Roth is the president of Wesleyan University. His most recent books are “ The Student: A Short History” and “ Safe Enough Spaces: A Pragmatist’s Approach to Inclusion, Free Speech, and Political Correctness on College Campuses.”

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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93 Parenting Styles Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best parenting styles topic ideas & essay examples, 🥇 most interesting parenting styles topics to write about, 📌 simple & easy parenting styles essay titles, ❓ research questions about parenting styles.

The Three Parenting Styles This style of parenting is where the parents let their children to make decisions on their own. The good thing about this style is the fact that communication is always open and parents are able […]
Cybernetics and Parenting Styles in Family Therapy This concept will be very helpful in my future work since I will be able to notice negative behavior in children that is the result of the parenting style adopted by the parents.
Parenting Styles and Their Influence on Adulthood The family context is regarded as essential because it helps to establish the link between childhood and the relationships of a person with their parents with future behavior and performance.
Parenting Style in Japan and USA Parenting encompasses the growth ecology of a growing up child, and hence it is very important in shaping up the behavior of the child and in their physical survival, social growth, cognitive development, and emotional […]
Authoritarian vs. Permissive Parenting Styles Authoritarian and permissive styles are parenting approaches that are commonly used and that have varied effects on children because they approach the concepts of discipline, warmth, nurturance, and communication differently.
Parenting Style and the Development First of all, the effectiveness of the authoritative style has been repeatedly confirmed in the relevant literature; in fact, it is now considered to be the most effective of the three styles.
Four Styles of Parenting The authors continue to explain that parenting styles are affected by children’s and parents’ dispositions and mainly based on the influence of one’s culture, traditions and origins. The four types of parenting styles include Authoritarian […]
Parenting Styles: China vs. North America Since Chinese parenting styles pay critical emphasis on the role of parents in shaping their children’s outcomes, it may be viewed as better compared to the North American style that only focuses much on self-esteem.
Different Parenting Styles The disadvantage of this style of parenting is that it over-estimates the value of discipline and forgets to highlight the importance of independence and self reliance, which is vital for maturity of an adolescent child.
Parenting Styles and Authority Problems Authority or the right to influence the actions and opinions of other people plays an important part in many areas of our life, including the relations between a parent and a child.
Parenting Styles and Academic Motivation Lyengar and Brown conducted a study about the correlation between the academic achievements among the students and the parenting styles. This report paper tries to synthesize the literature review that surrounds the influence of parenting […]
How Does Having a Child With Autism Affects Parents’ Lifestyle? The creation of a system of psychological, pedagogical and social support can reduce the risk of a complete family life dedication to a child with autism.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Parenting Style On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being lowest and 10 being highest, how much do you believe that kids need to learn early who the boss is in the family?
Parenting Styles and Overweight Status The authoritarian parenting style has a strict disciplinarian and a high expectation of the child’s self-control from the parent but a low sensitivity.
Analysis of Bullying and Parenting Style Since the given topic usually refers to children and adolescents, it is evident that their parents hold a portion of responsibility because the adults affect the growth and development of young individuals.
Parenting Styles Concept Comprehensive Study The differentiation between the main parenting styles depends upon the cultural context and the personal perceptions of the parenting strategies. The choice of the most appropriate parenting style can have a significant impact on the […]
Gender-Schema and Social Cognitive Theory in Parenting Styles Children live according to the rules and direction given by the parents and they are denied the chance of voicing out their views.
Parenting Styles of Young Adults The authoritative parenting style generates intrinsic motivation in students, which enables them to have better academic performance. Different studies have indicated that better academic performance is not confined to the authoritative parenting style.
Parenting and Its Major Styles Relations between the children and their parents are the basic criteria on which the development of the child is based. In the course of a month or two, an infant begins to show the affection […]
Styles of Parenting as a Psychological Strategies In the third style of parenting, which is indulgent parenting, the parent is responsive but not demanding. In this form of parenting, the parent is detached and uninvolved.
Chinese Parenting Style in Raising Successful Children The parenting approach by a large number of Western parents influences children to embrace the notion that their abilities have limits and promotes the development of characters who quit on every difficult task.
Parenting’s Skills, Values and Styles Subtopic 2: Parental Values and Attitudes That Accompany Stages in the Development of the Child Description of Concrete Experience: I learnt that in the early stages of development, the child is in most cases preoccupied […]
Alcohol Drinking Frequency Correlated to the Four Parenting Styles
Authoritarian and Authoritative Parenting Styles Comparison
Parenting Styles: The Impact on Student Achievement
Parenting Styles and Academic Achievement: A Cross-Cultural Study
Perceived Parenting Styles, Depersonalisation, Anxiety and Coping Behaviour in Adolescents
Influence of Parenting Styles on the Social Development of Children
Parenting Styles in a Cultural Context: Observations of “Protective Parenting” in First‐Generation Latinos
Linking Mother-Father Differences in Parenting to a Typology of Family Parenting Styles and Adolescent Outcomes
Parental Influences on Adolescent Adjustment: Parenting Styles Versus Parenting Practices
Reliability and Validity of Parenting Styles & Dimensions Questionnaire
Internet Parenting Styles and the Impact on Internet Use of Primary School Children
A Neurobiological Perspective on Early Adversity and the Transmission of Parenting Styles Across Generations
Revisiting a Neglected Construct: Parenting Styles in a Child-Feeding Context
Parenting Styles and Child Behavior in African American Families of Preschool Children
Correspondence Between Maternal and Paternal Parenting Styles in Early Childhood
Associations of Parenting Styles and Dimensions With Academic Achievement in Children and Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis
Parenting Styles, Adolescent Substance Use, and Academic Achievement
Remembered Parenting Styles and Adjustment in Middle and Late Adulthood
Differential Parenting Styles for Fathers and Mothers
Sex‐Based Differences in Parenting Styles in a Sample With Preschool Children
The Relationship of Perceived Parenting Styles to Perfectionism
The Relationship Between Parenting Styles and Creativity and the Predictability of Creativity by Parenting Styles
Parenting Styles, Feeding Styles, and Their Influence on Child Obesogenic Behaviors and Body Weight
High School Students’ Goal Orientations and Their Relationship to Perceived Parenting Styles
Parenting Styles and Youth Well-Being Across Immigrant Generations
Parenting Styles, Adolescents’ Attributions, and Educational Outcomes in Nine Heterogeneous High Schools
Relationships Between Parenting Styles and Risk Behaviors in Adolescent Health: An Integrative Literature Review
Relationship Between Adolescent Sexual Risk-Taking and Perceptions of Monitoring, Communication, and Parenting Styles
The Long Arm of Parenting: How Parenting Styles Influence Crime and the Pathways That Explain This Effect
The Role of Parenting Styles on Behavior Problem Profiles of Adolescents
On the Development of Regulatory Focus: The Role of Parenting Styles
The Influence of Parenting Styles, Achievement Motivation, and Self-Efficacy on Academic Performance in College Students
Parenting Children With Down Syndrome: An Analysis of Parenting Styles, Parenting Dimensions, and Parental Stress
The Relationship Between Internet Parenting Styles and Internet Usage of Children and Adolescents
The Role of Perceived Parenting Styles in Thinking Styles
Generational Changes in Parenting Styles and the Effect of Culture
Parenting Styles and Self-Efficacy of Adolescents: Malaysian Scenario
Asian Parenting Styles and Academic Achievement: Views From Eastern and Western Perspectives
Adolescents’ Perceived Parenting Styles and Their Substance Use: Concurrent and Longitudinal Analyses
Elucidating the Etiology and Nature of Beliefs About Parenting Styles
What Are the Four Types of Parenting Styles?
How Does Parenting Styles Influence a Child‘s Developmente of Children?
Which of the Four Parenting Styles Is the Best?
How Do You Determine Parenting Styles?
How Does Culture Affect Parenting Styles?
What Unites All Parenting Styles?
How Parenting Styles Directly Associated With Academic Rerformance of Children?
How Do Parenting Styles Affect Children’s Personality?
What Are the Most Damaging Parenting Styles?
Which Parenting Styles Are Most Encouraged in America?
Which Country Has the Best Parenting Styles?
Which Parenting Styles Are the Best in the United States and Why Are They Recommended?
Which Are the Most Commonly Used Parenting Style?
What Are the Parenting Styles in France?
Do Parenting Styles Change Over Time?
Who Invented the Four Parenting Styles?
Who Came up With the Different Parenting Styles?
Who Did the Most Influential Research on Parenting Styles?
What Are the Factors That Influence Parenting Styles?
What Is the Importance of Parenting Styles?
Why Do Parenting Styles Differ?
What Is Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles Theory?
How Do Different Parenting Styles Influence Development?
What Effect Do Parenting Styles Have on Children in School?
Can Two Parents Have Different Parenting Styles?
Which of Baumrind’s Four Parenting Styles Is Most Obedience Oriented?
Do Parenting Styles Vary From Culture to Culture?
What Is the Significance of Knowing Different Parenting Styles for Teachers?
Can Different Parenting Styles Ruin Marriage?
Which of Baumrind’s Parenting Styles Is Highly Involved but Not Very Demanding?
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Ananda White is a 2017 Cecil E. Newman Scholarship recipient. Below is her scholarship-winning essay. The two most influential people to guide my life and education are my parents Angela and Brian White. It's a cliché, but it is the truth. In fact, my parents will say they want me to have more opportunities than they […]
Parenting Matters: Supporting Parents of Children Ages 0-8
1 Introduction. Parents are among the most important people in the lives of young children. 1 From birth, children are learning and rely on mothers and fathers, as well as other caregivers acting in the parenting role, to protect and care for them and to chart a trajectory that promotes their overall well-being. While parents generally are filled with anticipation about their children's ...
How To Write An Essay On 'My Parents' for Classes 1, 2 and 3
Create a mental outline about how you want the essay to flow. Start with an introduction, describe your parents, detail their roles, and elaborate on their influence. While describing, it is important to mention what the parents do. Make sure to write about how they manage their personal and professional lives.
9 Steps to More Effective Parenting (for Parents)
These 9 child-rearing tips can help you feel more fulfilled as a parent. 1. Boost Your Child's Self-Esteem. Kids start developing their sense of self as babies when they see themselves through their parents' eyes. Your tone of voice, your body language, and your every expression are absorbed by your kids.
What I've Learned From My Students' College Essays
Most high school seniors approach the college essay with dread. Either their upbringing hasn't supplied them with several hundred words of adversity, or worse, they're afraid that packaging ...
Sample Parent Statement for Private School Admissions
Here's a great sample parent statement that addresses all of the key points that private school admissions officers are looking for. Note that this is a fictional parent statement describing a fictional student. Sample Parent Statement for High School Applicants. Prompt: Please tell us about your child and why you believe [SCHOOL] would be a ...
IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample 4
Write at least 250 words. Model Answer 1: (Agreement: Parents are the best teachers) 'Whether parents are our best teachers or not' is a never-ending debate and people are divided both in favour and against this argument. Both have a very strong contribution and influence on a child's learning but in my opinion, parents overtake the ...
What Happens When Abusive Parents Keep Their Children
In Minnesota, a children's advocacy group's study of 88 child fatalities in the state from 2014 to 2022 found that "many of these deaths were preventable" and were the result of a "child ...
Children's Right to Be Parented by the Best Parent Essay
Children's liberation and the right to an open future (where "the best available parent" is judged by the opportunities he/she can provide); The issue of parental love (in which the metaphysical concept of love is explored as a factor that cannot be ignored in deciding the child's future). Conclusion (which summarizes the assumptions made).
How to Choose the Ideal Partner for Parenthood
Parenting can be made much easier or much harder based on the choices we make before a child is ever conceived. Particularly in modern times, parenting a human being requires skill and support ...
Essay on Gratitude For Parents
Understanding Gratitude. Gratitude means to be thankful. It is about recognizing the good things in life and appreciating them. When we talk about gratitude for parents, it means to be thankful for all that our parents do for us. They work hard to provide us with a safe and comfortable life. They guide us, protect us, and love us unconditionally.
Sheletta Brundidge Essay
daughter, cameron, woke me up out of a deep sleep and told me the most frightening thing you can say to any parent. she said, mom, there's only 12 days of school left before summer break.
To the single mom on Mother's Day, I see you and you are enough
Most of my 14 years of motherhood felt like Mother's Day was spent alone, including some of the years I was married.. Every May, when the second Sunday in May comes around, I think of the women ...
Opinion
Mr. Roth is the president of Wesleyan University. This time of year, college campuses like the one where I live fill up with high school seniors preparing to make what feels like a momentous ...
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak: What my parents got right raising me
Steve Wozniak says he became happier and more successful because his parents taught him to forge his own path and trust his gut.
There's no way to be a perfect parent
In a 2023 survey of more than 700 parents nationwide, 57% of parents self-reported burnout. Parent burnout is strongly associated with both internal and external expectations.
93 Parenting Styles Essay Topic Ideas & Examples
Four Styles of Parenting. The authors continue to explain that parenting styles are affected by children's and parents' dispositions and mainly based on the influence of one's culture, traditions and origins. The four types of parenting styles include Authoritarian […] Parenting Styles and Authority Problems.