What Parenting Isn’t
By Deanne Atkinson
W
hat is parenting? Most of us will have our different version of answers to this question depending on our beliefs, our upbringing and our values. But what about what parenting isn’t? Let me explain.
No one likes to feel suppressed yet I see the results of a suppressed childhood on many occasions. A mother who grew up with overpowering parents and was taught to do as she was told as a child, she learnt to please her parents to keep the peace, stay out of trouble and be a ‘good girl.’ Now into her forties she has a need to have control over her own environment and those around her. She demands strict order and her three children are all responding differently. One is just like her and overpowers his siblings. One has shut down and tries to keep the peace whilst the youngest is rebelling and feeling suppressed at the force placed upon her. There is a lack of cooperation in the household and resentment is rife between family members. continued next page.....
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Peninsula Kids – Spring 2018