Parenting and the Public

Parenting styles and techniques have long been incredibly controversial topics for parents, teachers and policy makers alike. There are many different ways children can be raised and many different ways we can affect how they enter society as adults. The ways in which we have communicated these styles and techniques with “stakeholders” has also been a controversial topic. Simply informing teachers and parents of the different types of raising a child is not as simple as it may seem. There are biases and controversies to overcome. Telling parents could incite anger, confusion, and defensive behavior. Using pop/mainstream, theories of parenting to share this information on different parenting styles with the public could be useful but also dangerous. Terms such as “snowplow” parenting and “helicopter” parenting can be easily misinterpreted. Going back to the basics and using older theories could be a better approach. Overall, I think if the intent is well formed and the theories are explained with less bias, the different concepts of parenting could and should be shared with the public in order to help raise our youth to the best of our ability.