#150 Today’s parents do not understand
children as well as parents understood children about 50 years ago.
Over the past few decades, ways of
parenting have altered, and it has been argued whether today’s parents do not
understand children as well as parents understood children about 50 years ago.
Some might agree with the statement by saying that today’s parents don’t spend
enough time with their children than parents did in the past. Meanwhile, others
might have different ideas and opinions. However, I am deeply convinced that
today’s parents actually understand children just as well as parents did
approximately 50 years ago. In fact, I have a couple of reasons to strengthen
my assertion. I will explain and develop them in the next following paragraphs.
First of all, developed social media grants
parents the opportunity to learn about the characteristics and variety of
typical children. Television programs, social media status, internet bloggers
or more shares stories about parenting and the solutions to every problem
within a family with each other. This technological development has expanded
the knowledge and understanding of parents about their children. Although some
people might argue that today’s parents spend less time with their children in
comparison with the parents in the past, parents 50 years ago mostly spent time
with their children because of family business, not long hours of honest
communication. To give an example of this, when my little brother was born, I
was known for being a troublemaker in town. I would play harsh games with my
friends, start fights and school and make a mess at home. My mom and dad didn’t
spend much time with me because they were always busy either working late or taking
care of my baby brother. One day, I went out to fly my kite in the park without
my mom’s permission and lost my way. A was lost for hours until the police
found me and took me home. At home, I had a long talk with my dad. He told me
about his childhood. He said he was just like me when he first had his little
brothers and sisters, and his parents didn’t understand any of his bad
behavior. His parents didn’t have any books or social media to study and read
about children’s unusual behavior. However, my dad read a lot about children
like me when my brother was born, and he was expecting me to be jealous and
make a mess just to get more attention. I was actually surprised how well he
knew how I felt. He didn’t punish me or scowl at me because he understood more
than the parents of the past, despite the less time he usually spends with me. Developed
technology connected the understandings of parents and children and created a
bond that was stronger than the past.
Moreover, today’s schools also make ways to
inform parents about their children. As the value of intricate education
broadened, schools and educational systems communicate with the parents of each
child. Parents are able to know their children’s life more than they did in the
past. Although some people might say that the cultural differences of parents
and children makes parents understand less about their children than the past,
the bond of understandings between parent and child has never been influenced
by cultural differences. To give an example of this, a survey was made in two
groups of teachers. One group was full of teachers who are very old in age and
also who had taught children for most of their lives. The other group was full
of teachers that were very young and didn’t have much experience teaching. When
they were questioned about their students, the first group of old teachers only
remembered the children they taught but not the parents of their students. This
is because they never met those parents. Educational systems weren’t so nosy
about the personal lives of families in the past. The other group of young
teachers was the complete opposite. They’ve met most of their students’ parents
in school programs and have informed all of the parents about their children
very honestly. Although there were some parents who didn’t do many activities
with their children, the young teachers’ job was to make sure they had a
perfect understanding and interest about their own children. Parents in the
past might seem like they understand their children much better than today, but
their understandings and interest had a limitation due to the lack of
information about children.