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The bond between a parent and child is one of the strongest emotional connections a human can hope to experience; it transcends race, colour, creed, religion, and every other possible roadblock in its way. However, what a parent believes is best for their child may in fact harm them and cause unforeseen detriments to the child’s health and wellbeing. Author and mother Amy Webb claims she is a better parent for recording everything her daughter does and saving the data to a spreadsheet. Like Webb I agree surveying and recording everything her daughter does brings her and her daughter closer together, however, I disagree with her claim that she is a better parent because she is harming her daughter by not allowing her to breathe or have space.
In her article "I Measure Every Single Thing My Child Does," published to Slate Magazine on 9 July, 2013, author and mother Amy Webb argues she is a better parent for keeping track and recording everything her child does. Using her experiences of “advanced maternal age” pregnancy, birth, and raising her child, Webb explains how the collection of data on her daughter brings the two of them closer than other parenting techniques. Webb describes her experiences of pregnancy and the subsequent birth of her daughter which lead to Webb record everything her daughter does. Webb argues the data collection may seem odd to some but she claims it brings her and her daughter closer together. She says she knows exactly what her daughter likes, wants, and needs. She states her style of parenting is no different than others; hers “just comes with spreadsheets” (Webb).
Webb appeals to parents by using appeals to her being a mother, and she could improve her article in numerous ways. To make her article bett...
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... used throughout the text. Webb’s parenting style may bring her closer to her daughter but it can seriously harm her without knowing; however, in her defense hers is no different than other styles, it just comes with spreadsheets.
Works Cited
Schiffrin, Holly H., Miriam Liss, Haley Miles-McLean, Katherine A. Geary, Mindy J. Erchull, and Taryn Tashner. "Helping or Hovering? The Effects of Helicopter Parenting on College Students’ Well-Being." Journal of Child and Family Studies 22.2 (2013): n. pag. Print.
Webb, Amy. "I Measure Everything My Kid Does, and Track It on Spreadsheets. It Makes Me a Better Parent." Slate Magazine. The Slate Group, 9 July 2013. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.
Zimmerman, F., D. Christakis, and A. Meltzoff. "Associations between Media Viewing and Language Development in Children Under Age 2 Years." The Journal of Pediatrics 151.4 (2007): 364-68. Print.
Parenting has been a long practice that desires and demands unconditional sacrifices. Sacrifice is something that makes motherhood worthwhile. The mother-child relationship can be a standout amongst the most convoluted, and fulfilling, of all connections. Women are fuel by self-sacrifice and guilt - but everyone is the better for it. Their youngsters, who feel adored; whatever is left of us, who are saved disagreeable experiences with adolescents raised without affection or warmth; and mothers most importantly. For, in relinquishing, a mother feels strong and liberal; and in guild she finds the motivation to right wrong.
Throughout a person’s lifetime, an individual will have encountered an array of people with different qualities that make up their personalities. In general, people who are characterized as strong-willed are the one who have the initiative and they are risk takers. Also, they deviate from normalcy by looking for something new, different, or other ways of doing things because of the tedious situations they wound up in. As once Philosopher David Hume stated two hundred and fifty years ago that unlike those who deviate from the world of normalcy and clichés, most of the people go on with their lives in a “dogmatic slumber… so ensnared in conventional notions of just about everything that we don’t see anything; we just rehearse what we’ve been told is there” (Rosenwasser 4). In the anecdotal piece “Terwilliger Bunts One”, Annie Dillard has expressed her feelings and emotions towards her mother. Writing from the first person point of view, Annie Dillard also explains to her audience the attitude her mother took through many different circumstances and anecdotes that Dillard revealed thus admiring the personality of her mother as a child. By mentioning the qualities that her mother possesses, she is putting the spotlight on the impact her mother has made on her life using her parenting philosophy. The first parenting philosophy Dillard’s mother has taught her is to be very expressive in everything using surprising and strange-sounding words as part of the observation to other people. As Dillard recalls in her story, it happened when her mother heard the announcer on the radio cried out “Terwilliger Bunts one” and she started using this phrase as part of her “surprising string of syllables… for the next seven or eight years” (Dillard). ...
No two mother and daughter relationships are alike. After reading “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker and “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan I realized that the two stories had the same subject matter: mother and daughter relationships. These two stories show different cultures, generations and parenting methods. Although the two mothers act differently, they are both ultimately motivated by the same desire: to be a good parent. In addition, while researching related articles, I realized that there were two recurring themes of mothers and daughters: respect and diverse ways of parenting.
Did your mother read to you when you were six weeks old? Did she teach you how to do math problems when you were two? Recently, I read an issue of Parenting Magazine and found an article on child development. Kathleen Parker’s article, “First Three Years Aren’t That Critical” tells us that parents today are putting to much emphasis on what the media and medical journals are saying, instead of using common sense. The article emphasizes that parents are going overboard on these new studies using good argumentative techniques. Although I found not all of what she said was accurate, I still felt she got her point across. Parker uses evidence from scientists and medical books, to further persuade the reader to side with her opinion. Parker uses good persuasive techniques by showing that not everything you read in the media about child development is true or factual. Parker also shows that she is not one-sided on the issue and gives a personal comment about the opposing viewpoint. I feel the author proved her point that parents are being ridiculous in how they are raising their child these days.
In “Helicopter Parents – Stop Hovering!” Diether H. Haenicke makes a proposition that parents who hover for their children are not helping them; on the other hand, they are more likely affecting them negatively. Haenicke points out that some parents would attend classes in the university and take notes for their son or daughter if they were sick. He also states that parents would even go with their kids to a job interview. According to Haenicke, most companies will never hire a person who goes for a job interview with his or her parents. According to Haenicke, some students have low self-esteem because they rely less and less on their own abilities as they have learned to be dependent on their parents. The extreme dependence denies them the opportunity to learn by experience, which is the best teacher. All of these factors play a major role in the development of some mental problems by these students. It is therefore the highest time that college students should be left to lead their own lives and experience life in totality.
In the story Everyday Use by Alice Walker, we learn about a family that includes a mom called “Mama” and two very different daughters named Dee and Maggie. One daughter, Dee, has had a much easier life than her sister, Maggie, in many aspects. The relationship between Mama and her daughters provides the basis for Mama’s actions. The story is told from the perspective of Mama, allowing readers to learn about her thoughts and the motivation behind her actions. At the beginning of the story, Mama worries about what Dee thinks of her and tries to please her by giving her anything she asks for. By the end of the story, we see Mama changes because she stands up to Dee, resulting in her finally able to give Maggie something she desires. Mama changes because she realizes Dee shouldn’t control her actions and that Maggie deserves better treatment. Mama’s choice to stand up to Dee is crucial to understanding her character because we’ve seen how Dee has controlled Maggie and Mama for a long time and this action shows a turning point in all of their lives.
When intensive mothers are busy with thier responsibilities in the public sphere, due to their belief that a mother is the central caregiver, their temporary replacement must exclusively be female (Hays 414). Even with a female nanny who “leaves the place in a mess, makes a petty point of not putting the dishwasher on […], never gives the correct change from the supermarket and “loses” all the receipts” (Pearson 84), Kate still makes every effort to keep the nanny in her family. From the perspective of intensive mothers, men are not capable of providing the same quality of care that a woman is able to provide (Hays 414). From a gender essentialist perspective, Kate argues that “Emily and Ben need me, and it’s me that they want. […] Daddy is the ocean; Mummy is the port, the safe haven they nestle in to gain the courage to venture farther and farther out each time” (Pearson 169). Therefore, intensive mothers find “alternate mothers,” that is, credentialed female child-care providers (Hays 412) such as Paula, Kate’s nanny, as well as Jo, Alice’s nanny who are able to promote the intellectual enrichment of their
Hall, Carla. "Taking Parenting a Step at a Time Education" Los Angeles Times 19 Nov.1994: 1
Intrusive parenting is a new scenario that has just recently caught the attention of the public eye. Barbara Howard, author of “Landing Helicopter Parents,” refers to these specific types of parents as “helicopter parents” because they are in constant fear that something bad might happen to their child and are willing to do anything to raise a successful young adult (8). It’s because of this fear, that they tend to “hover” close to their child (8). Other terms
Thompson, R. A., & Nelson, C. A. (2001). Developmental Science and the Media: Early Brain Development. American Psychologist, 56(1), 5-15.
A parent is not only the loving mother who holds you close to her for nine months and then many years, or the dad who plays baseball with you and intimidates his daughter’s dates. It is someone who is there for you from the start, guiding you to the right path of knowledge and teaching you how to stay on the right path independently. A parent does not need to have any biological associations to the child in order to be a parent to them. A parent must have certain characteristics to be rightfully called a parent. For many years psychologists have defined ways to correctly support a child to adulthood for parents all over the world. Some people conclude their practice of parenting their children after the child reaches the age of 18, and some have the duty as a lifelong job. As years pass so do generations and media changes very constantly and plays a factor in how children act and respond to certain stimuli. There was a study done in 2009 and people in Poughkeepsie had answered a poll that revealed overall every age group finds it harder to raise a child in today’s day and age than it had been in previous generations, but the older the parent is, the longer the generation gap would be and that factors in the difficulty of understanding how media works with a child’s psychological set up. What a child watches on a television screen is what the child will imitate through behavior. However, parenting is not a book written by a doctor, parenting is having a family, and creating memories, also ensuring that your children live in a nourishing environment for their emotional, mental, and physical health. The accepted goal of a parent is to ensure that their child or children grow to be mature and able to both support themselves and a f...
A parent’s parenting styles are as diverse as the world we live in today. Nowadays, parents only want what is best for their children and their parenting styles plays a crucial role in the development of children which will in the long run, not only effect the child’s childhood years, but later prolong into their adult life as well.
In this day and age, the media labels overbearing parents as helicopter parents, and the label itself has taken on a negative light due to the guilt by association. The ‘popular’ definition of helicopter parenting come from the ‘extreme’ cases (Jayson 5). The extreme cases in the news are just that, extreme cases; they do not depict helicopter parenting in general, and have been given the name Blackhawks (“Liftoff for ‘Helicopter’ Parents”). The idea of helicoptering has become a misguided ‘negative portrait’ by media using the term and ‘over parenting synonymously’, but the two terms should be used so. They are very different; over parenting is when a parent does not let the child think for themselves (Aucoin). Over parenting and helicopter parenting are not synonyms, but they are not quite antonyms. Helicoptering can become oppressive parents quite easily. Another side of over parenting is the side that ‘expects… immediate compliance’ to orders without giving reasoning. This style can cause below average ‘self-esteem… self-reliance and… social skills’ (McDevitt and Ormrod). The regular helicopter parenting is more common than what would be assumed as a study shows ‘60 to 70 percent’ of college parents have ‘some helicoptering behavior...
Modern parents have the ability to know their child’s whereabouts, traveling speed, and even internet usage at any given moment. This technology is envied by similar parents of the past that desired to be involved in every aspect of their children’s lives. Parents employ these techniques solely in the name of wellbeing for the child, but it can bring more malice than benefits. This practice of overparenting strips children of their individual development and provokes many emotional and behavioral issues that are uncovered in adulthood.
Back in my parents’ time, the mom community were a bunch of neighborhood mothers. They hosted slumber parties and watched the children play outdoors. Mothers provided the pickle and spaghetti jars for catching lightning bugs. Modern day world, only two decades later is a completely different ball field. The reason for this is the severe advances in technology. If you aren’t on social media sites, such as Facebook you are out of the loop. Not only must you have a Facebook account, but you need to know all the abbreviations and modern day research associated with being a parent. In the text that follows, you will be informed of all the abbreviations, the research, and the beliefs that mothers are expected to follow to blend in with the social media community.