Chris' Eportfolio

I have chosen to write about a few of the parenting styles and their effects on children and parents. As someone with no children yet it may seem like a strange subject. My wife and I are planning on having children within the next few years so these articles stood out to me as something that would apply to us in the not so distant future.

Before taking this class and working on the term project I assumed that the best way to raise children would be an authoritarian parenting, which can be described as having a "my way or the highway" attitude. I used to believe that children who constantly misbehave in public needed to be more disciplined. I still feel this way to some degree but, I have come to learn that strict parenting is not the best way to raise children. I have always been against permissive parenting because I felt that that style of parenting would lead to spoiled children with no sense of responsibility. I feel what I have learned in this class has made me more aware of the dangers of the different types of parenting and developmental processes. This will help me understand how the decisions I make as a parent may affect my future children.

When I have been around children, I have been practicing a few of the parenting skills I have learned about to try and prepare for our future children. My cousin told me that her young daughter has begun to be shyer than she used to be. We discussed in class the different stages of childhood I learned that it was normal for children to enter a stage where they are fearful of others so I knew it wasn’t anything to worry about.

Throughout the course I have learned many things that have help strengthen some beliefs I have. We discussed the effects of alcohol and other drugs on the development of a fetus, not only from the mother but how certain tendencies and traits are passed through the male as well. This solidifies my drive to not smoke or drink alcohol. I know that my wife and I need to live in a healthy and smart way in order to give our children the best shot at being successful.

I haven’t noticed any real changes in my current professional life but I am planning on changing my career to a medical related field and I have learned more of what to expect. It is interesting to lean about the different developmental stages and the possible effects from deviations from the normal patterns. I look forward to using the things I have learned to help people overcome those effects and progress in their development.