I feel very strongly about parenting, not because I think that it makes a huge difference to how the child will turn out but because I think it makes a huge difference to how children experience childhood.
-
Show this thread
-
My memory of childhood was of finding being controlled unbearable and always wanting to be left alone and to be independent and my own person and being quite difficult because of it.
1 reply 0 retweets 6 likesShow this thread -
And this wasn't because my parents were authoritarian. On the contrary, they indulged this much more than most parents would because my dad was exactly the same - deeply introverted, private, independent-minded. He got it.
1 reply 0 retweets 6 likesShow this thread -
And this strongly suggests that these traits of mine are genetic rather than socially imposed because it wasn't my introverted dad who brought me up but my extrovert mum. She mostly left me alone tho so I was very lucky really.
1 reply 0 retweets 6 likesShow this thread -
But I think even kids who are not particularly individualistic and independent-minded have a hard time dealing with having their lives controlled because...well, why wouldn't you?
2 replies 0 retweets 5 likesShow this thread -
The problem is that this can't be helped to a certain extent because kids don't have the judgement to make all their own decisions and do need guidance and boundaries.
1 reply 0 retweets 9 likesShow this thread -
So, I think parents have a difficult balancing act because, on the one hand, they need to keep their kids safe, healthy, educated, well-behaved and adequately supervised and on the other, they need to try to give them as much independence, privacy & autonomy as possible.
1 reply 0 retweets 7 likesShow this thread -
I get most furious at parents who seem to take some kind of pleasure in a controlling role and think 'my house, my rules' is some kind of ethical justification for those rules. Those who take pride in being disciplinarians and having a gazillion largely arbitrary rules.
2 replies 0 retweets 12 likesShow this thread
It's not a justification. It can apply to 'brush your teeth' and 'eat all your meals standing on one leg in the bath.' There needs to be additional justification for rules. Because it's essential to your health. Because it makes you a better housemate.
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.