A Choice between Fish and Fishing Rod

No one can choose his parents and his family of birth. Parenting style is different from family to family and culture to culture. Parents have their own ways to teach their offspring, which will bring up children of various kinds. Sometimes, even father and mother have their own point of views on parenting respectively. In order to have a clear understanding of parenting styles, we can group them into three types: helicopter, drill sergeant and consultant.

 

The first type of parents is called helicopter. Helicopter parents always hover over their children’s every movement. They protect their children from any possible dangers and problems. In addition, they even take over what children should do or should be responsible for. My father perfectly fits into this category. He always prepares everything well for my brother and me. Every time when my brother and I call for help, he comes and rescues us immediately like a superman. Since helicopter parents overprotect their offspring, they might easily spoil their children. Also, their children will not have the ability to deal with things around them.

The second one is the drill sergeant parents. This type of parents is authoritarian; they command and direct the lives of their offsprings. What they expect is that children will obey them without questions. Instead of listening to children’s opinions, drill sergeant parents directly tell their children: you should do this! This type of parenting often appears in wealthy or upper-class families. In order to make their offsprings outstanding, parents force children to learn a lot of talents. Drill sergeant parents tend to ignore children’s voices which are the most important part in children’s development. If children are not listened to, they will feel frustrated and think that no one cares about them.

Consultant parents are the third type of parenting. They provide guidance and consultant services for offspring. They do not overindulge children, nor do they dominate children’s lives. What consultant parents do is to teach children through their personal experiences. My mother falls into this category. When I encounter difficulties or problems, she always enlightens me by sharing her experience that is similar to my situation. She gives me advice and then allows me to think of my own solution to the problem. Children who are raised in this type of parenting are usually strong-minded and responsible.

Above all are the three forms of parenting styles. It is always said that “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for life.” Parenting shares the same principle. What parents should do is not to interfere or control children’s lives. Instead, parents should give their offspring space to explore the alternatives of life. Though we cannot choose our parents, we can choose which kind of parents we would like to be in the future.