Parents are means of structuring their child’s future. They have a very crucial role to play in their child’s growth and his/her conduct. During the days when schooling was considered to be accessible only to the children of the opulent, those who were not privileged enough to go to school, remained at home and helped their parents in daily chores.
Such children used to emulate their parents in their deeds and conduct because they were of the opinion that their fathers have done great in life (How do parents influence children in life, 2010). It is a well researched and established fact that children, whose fathers take active part in their upbringing, inculcate most of their habits; irrespective of the habits being good or bad (20 Reasons why your child needs you to be an active father, 2000).
But during the years, owing to the numerous opportunities available, parents have started devoting more time towards their work. Moreover, education has been simplified and has easy access. Children have started going to schools and as such, both parents and their children don’t have enough time to spend with each other.
But still there are parents who devote time towards their children and try and teach them. It has been observed that children, who have their parents’ guidance and participation in their school activities, achieve more in life as compared to those who totally depend on their schools.
Irrespective of their gender, children need constructive and encouraging role models (male or female). Unlike the earlier days, when children did not have much exposure to the outer world, now-a-days, by virtue of the available resources like internet, children have a larger world. Now, they are able to read about and listen to several successful people from different fields such as entertainment, science, education, etc.
It has been observed that children get fascinated by such people and try to emulate them (Rush, 2014). Children watch such celebrities on the television, magazines, advertisements, newspapers, etc. Moreover, it has become a daily routine sort of thing.
When the children watch the celebrities on a daily basis, they ought to be inspired or fascinated by them. So we see that the scenario has changed completely. Earlier, where a child’s role model was his/her father, now, due to exposure to the outer world, the preference has changed.
But if we think it logically, this trend of the children’s preference is not good for their future. Children tend to think about them even when they are not watching the television or reading a magazine (Teens and celebrities, 2014). It is human tendency to run after whatever seems to be good. But we forget the price that we might have to pay for this.
Like for example, what celebrities do on the television is part of their job and they get paid for that. But when children emulate them, they have to spend from their own pocket (indirectly from their parents’ pocket). Moreover, it is not necessary that if any particular celebrity has achieved success, each one of us will also be successful in the same manner. We have our own limitations and we should teach our children the importance of such limitations.
Being disciplined is one of the most critical requirements of being successful. Similar to the habit of achieving targets, discipline also doesn’t come instantly. It has to be inculcated since childhood. Parents can teach discipline to their child by following certain rules. They can have strict time frames for different activities of their child at home such as study hours, watching the television programmes, having supper and other meals, and going to bed. A sense of responsibility can also be imposed on the child by allocating to him/her certain house-hold tasks.
Achieving one’s goals in life is a very important factor of success. Success comes to those who achieve their aims and objectives. Even though there are no fixed parameters for achieving success, it solely depends on the hard work, enthusiasm and motivation of a person. These qualities don’t come instantly but have to be nurtured since childhood.
So parents, who want their child to succeed, should start giving him/her small targets to be completed in a given time-frame. Gradually, the child will be habituated to achieve targets and this will be helpful to a great extent in his/her future life, may it be his/her education or professional career.
Simply by getting involved in their child’s school activities, parents cannot guarantee their child’s success. Parents should be well acquainted with the ongoing educational process and various courses available. Information on when to go for any particular course is very crucial. As for example, parents must be aware of any courses that their child might require before going to the college.
There are various pre-college courses that improve the grasping power of students. Further, a child will not be able to tell as to what he/she wants to achieve in life. But parents, by knowing his/her interests, can assess their child’s inclination and can further encourage him/her to pursue those interests.
References
20 Reasons why your child needs you to be an active father. (2000). Web.
How do parents influence children in life. (2010). Web.
Rush, M. (2014). Parent vs. Celebrity influence. Web.
Teens and celebrities. (2014). Web.