What is Parenthood Essay

Introduction Parenthood is the state in which individual(s) transits to become a parent and as such his/her roles, status, values and needs in the society change. For an individual to qualify to become a parent they have to have a child and thus the man becomes a father while the woman becomes a mother. In parenthood, one can either be a single parent, which refers that he/she has been mandated to look after the kid alone due to unavoidable circumstances. In life, everybody is bound to pass through this stage. Being a parent is one of the difficult tasks and at the same time rewarding task one will ever undertake in this world. Although one can be a parent by giving birth, adopting a child from an orphanage, raising a grandchild and even being a step/foster parent, the most challenging part in this transition is that one’s lifestyle automatically changes (DeBord). Lead sentence 1 The stages of parenthood are the image making stage, nurturing, authority, interpretive, independent, and the stage of departure. Explanation The stage of image making lies before the birth of a baby. From birth to 18 months we call this stage the nurturing since the parents are trying to form attachments with the new born. Authority stage is between 18 months to 5 years. During this period, the child is developing in different ways for example language. From age 5 through to the elementary school, the child is said to be in the interpretive stage of parenthood thus parents need to fully explain themselves in order for the child to understand. The last stage is the departure (death, separation, and distancing) one where age of children varies. Lead sentence 2 Different styles of parents have been characterized by researchers as authoritarian, permissive-indulgent, authoritative, and disengaged. Explanation Permissive-indulgent type of parents are those that give their children much attention and love yet are low when it comes to making certain demands which include punishments. Disengaged (permissive-indifferent) are those parents who take long in responding to their children’s needs as well as on making the demands. Parents who are authoritarian are however demanding, but not responsive thus are strict. They use punishments in disciplining their children and do not allow them the freedom to choose or express their views. Lastly, the authoritative parents have a balance in discipline measures, have high set standards and mature behavior expectations, enforce rules firmly and encourage children to be independent and individualistic (DeBord). Lead sentence 3 Parenthood does entail the responsibility of individual(s) being a parent(s) and thus they will need to nurture, support, and encourage their children to be positive in life so as to be triumphant people in future. Explanation A child becomes successful in future due to their parents’ support and encouragement and is why leadership is also associated with parenthood. Leadership encompasses the ability of an individual to support, promote, nurture, and lead the people of his/her country in a diplomatic and ethical way. When the leader of a country is true, they produce great societies that are dynamic hence citizens become productive. All this toils back to the kind of parent the leader had during his/her development. Leaders need to be real parents of their followers in order for them to grow, develop, and succeed which can be achieved by encouraging their citizens to persist in all they want to achieve (DeBord). Lead sentence 4 Parenthood is either planned for or unplanned. Explanation Planned Parenthood is where both the woman and man arrange on when they want to have their child while the unplanned parenthood is when the girl gets pregnant at a tender age and does not commit abortion. Surrogate parenthood on the other hand is when the barren woman requests the services of another woman to bear the child on her behalf and later get paid. The child will be theirs since the husband willfully gave his sperm for fertilization to take place. Teachers, coaches, neighbors and even grandparents all help in giving new parents useful information of the path they are taking. The skills associated with parenting can be strengthened by learning processes and experience, which is the best teacher (Elster 55). Conclusion The requirements of a good parenthood are; one should have a mature and stable personality at all times in order to be differentiated from the crowd. One should be reasonable enough thus should have the ability of controlling the impulses that are encountered. Above all these, the individual(s) should be a good role model to be followed by many in the society. None of these requirements is teachable to an individual since the feelings come from within. Fathers experience very high anxiety levels during the parenthood transition period as compared to women (Elster 55). Work Cited: DeBord, K. Parenthood and Parenting. New York: North Carolina. 1997. Elster, B. Adolescent Fatherhood. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1986 (2) 55.