There were really good reading for class this week. We studied all sorts of beginnings with parenting.
Some readings were about gender and how it is evident in babies. Male and female brains are put together, or wired differently. The readings focused in on sight and hearing and how boys are different from girls. When these things are considered then we might understand that girls hear better than boys and when looking at something boys are drawn to see things differently. Parenting is effected when I know and understand these principles.
Some of the readings talked about temperament. I thought about how I can balance my own temperament as a parent. I also studied nine points of temperament. Each of these fits into an active or passive temperament, but can also stand on their own.
Activity level
Rhythmicity
Initial response
Adaptability
Sensory threshold
Quality of mood
Intensity of reaction
Distractibility
Persistence and attention span
I rated each of my children to see if I understood where they were at in each area. Some were easy to see, others were harder to judge.
We learned about the 'goodness of fit' when it comes to parenting. Either we can change the child to fit the environment, change the environment to fit the child, or trust what we've taught our children and let them go.
Personally I learned that I cannot compare my children, to each other, or to other children. They are individuals and I need to focus on that more. The DAP (developmentally appropriate practices) help me know how to look at them this way.
We had some readings about Baumrind's parenting styles,
Permissive
Authoritative,
Authoritarian,
and Un-involved.
I enjoyed these readings. I sometimes feel guilty about what I am not doing or doing too much. It has been good to have the reminder of what each of these styles looks like and how they effect children. I can see better what I need to change to help my children in a better way.
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