Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I am Chong Cia Ling, the founder of Brainy Montessori. I am so grateful to have such an honour standing here to deliver my speech entitled “What does it take to be good parents?”. I am sure all the parents here will agree with me that being parents is tough. Bringing up children is a very difficult task. Everyone wishes to be good parents. However, sometimes we could be so discouraged and helpless when we get the feedback that we are not good parents although we have done our upmost to provide the best for our children. What is the cause of that? Today, let us learn how to be good parents together.
A parent is said to be a good parent only after seeing how he has brought up his children. They should bring up the children in a very good discipline. However, we need to bear in mind that discipline does not mean that they have to punish their children for every wrong doing. Recently there is a famous video of a Texas judge hitting his teenage daughter repeatedly with a belt. This father justified his actions as “discipline.” I beg to differ. According to the video, the father is not disciplining his daughter. He is engaging in an act of punishment intent on hurting, humiliating and controlling her!
Well, it is common that children do mistakes. Yet, what a good parent must do is he has to teach him how to differentiate what is good and what is bad. We need to understand that giving punishment especially physical punishment will not help children in a way instead it will create new problems. Indeed, it hurts. For instance, children will become rebellious as they have already got used to the corporal punishment. Eventually, they will develop hatred towards their parents.
Deborah Sendek (2011) also claims that physical punishment is ineffective in parenting. It can easily escalate and cross the line to abuse and serious injury, particularly when an instrument is used. Children become emotionally
References: Deborah Sendek. (2011). Physical Punishment Doesn 't help, It Hurts. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/09/opinion/sendek-corporal punishment/index.html Don’t Compare Your Kids to Others. Retrieved from http://mums.bodyandsoul.com.au/pregnancy+parenting/parenting+tips/dont+compare+your+kids+to+others,9385 Respecting and Giving Kids Their Privacy. Retrieved from http://www.more4kids.info/632/respecting-kids-privacy/