Do you believe that the majority of parents view parenthood as an exercise of po

1. 86

   gmwilliamsposted 6 years ago

   Do you believe that the majority of parents view parenthood as an exercise of power & might instead
   
   of relating to their children as individuals worthy of respect?  Why? Why not?
   
   

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2. 84

   tsmogposted 6 years ago

   I think in most cases parents do view parenthood as an exercise of power, but not necessarily do they view it as exercising 'might'. Might to me is misleading. Remember parenthood begins with infancy. Then comes discussion of is that exercise of power an act of love with a motive of caregiving?

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3. 93

   lisavollrathposted 6 years ago

   I don't know that I would say a majority of parents view parent hood that way, but I do think there are parents out there who view parenting as an exercise in dominance and control.
   
   I had a mother who treated me as a thing she had to control, manipulate, and dominate, rather than as a person. She just didn't have the emotional skills to be a good parent, beyond providing a home and food. I think this was exacerbated by my being an only child, which caused her to pour all her expectations onto me. Perhaps if I'd had siblings, the demands of being the perfect daughter, perfect student, and to excel at anything I was forced to try would have been spread out.
   
   I just think there are people out there without the skills to be parents.

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4. 79

   dashingscorpioposted 6 years ago

   
   
   I don't believe it's the reason why they (chose) to have children.
   However I suspect many of them decided that their children were not going to run their household.
   The minute they sense a rebellious nature rising they want to nip it in the bud. When I was growing up all adults were to be revered as being wise, respected and thought to be superior.
   It was "their house" and "their rules" and if you didn't want to follow them it was time for you to move out. There was no arguing, yelling at adults, rolling your eyes, or slamming doors.
   Teachers, principals, and coaches were allowed to paddle kids who got out of line.
   A lot of stuff that goes on today simply was not tolerated.
   If anything I believe today's parents are a much more lenient than past generations. Adults & children are on a "first name" basis. Mr./Ms./Mrs. are rarely used terms by children today.
   Some teenagers are allowed to have overnight guest as in boyfriends/girlfriends. Others can curse, drink, & smoke.
   Just the other day I was addressing an issue with one of my tenants. The father called out to his teenage son who had just walked away to get into a car. The son yelled back:
   "I'm (efffing) busy!"
   (And by that I don't mean he said effing. It was the F-word)
   My mother would have never allowed that!
   If I had did that the next word I would have heard would have been "Clear!"

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5. 86

   tamarawilhiteposted 6 years ago

   Powdered butt syndrome - you pooped and peed on me, I shoveled it for two years, you will never be seen as my equal or superior in any area

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6. 61

   Alan Graceposted 6 years ago

   If you misuse the power of your authority then you might incur a liability. Because weak should always be protected and not to be dominated. Find out the science here  https://goo.gl/vjNPT6

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   1. 60

      KayceeLposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Great answer

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7. 60

   KayceeLposted 6 years ago

   Yes. It saddens me that there are more parents either around my age (in my 30s) and younger who act as though children are not a unique individual. I see parents sign up their children for activity after activity after activity with no regards to whether or not the child is interested. And when the child speaks up and says "I really don't like this and I want to do this instead." the parents get upset with child and continue to force the child to stay in whatever it is child is in. Then I hear this (it makes me want to confront) from parent "if I let them quit then they won't learn responsibility"
   Ugh it's ridiculous.
   The other power trip I see a lot, be it with my family or friends, is when parents intentionally withhold from child the schedule until day of and sometimes right up to the moment it begins. It's so wrong and the only thing I could think of as to why parents do this is so that the child cannot have a chance to say no and/or explain why they don't want to do it.
   Children can think, make certain decisions, and learn on their own. Yet I see more and more parents disregard all those things and do "what the parent deems best"

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