Responsibilities of parents
Being a parent means taking on multiple responsibilities. These responsibilities vary depending on the age and relationship of the child.
Some of the responsibilities of parents to their child include:
- Listening to and valuing a child's contribution
- Fostering positive self-esteem in children
- Ensuring the physical wellbeing of the child is met
- Providing a secure and safe environment
- Establishing and maintaining positive communication patterns
Along with these responsibilities, there are three main areas in which parents have responsibilities in and they are:
Duty of care
A parent has a duty of care over their child to ensure that all their needs are met. The wellbeing of the child is the most important and it is the responsibility of the parent to care for their child's wellbeing. In Australia, there are laws in relation to child welfare and protection. The Children (care and protection) Act 1987 (NSW) and Children and Young Persons (care and protection) Act 1998 (NSW) are laws put in place to protect children against the neglect and abuse by their parents or any adult.
Duty of care is constantly transferred and is not always necessarily passed on to someone who is blood related. When a parent takes their child to child care or school, they are handing the duty of care over to the workers until the child is back in the care of their parents.
By maintaining your duty of care as a parent, your child is more likely to put their trust in you and realise the love, care and affection you have towards them hence creating a stronger relationship with you.
Setting limits
It is your responsibility as a parent to set limits and guidelines for your child to follow. Using guidance is much more useful than severely punishing your child as that only distances them further. By setting limits, you're allowing your child to know what's expected from them, learn about fairness and respect others.
Children grow up and are mostly around their parents and so teaching them correct behaviours and setting out expectations in regards to how they should behave both around the family and in public is essential.
In some circumstances, the limits set for children vary depending on their gender. For example, the curfew of a boy child may be completely different to that of his sister regardless of their age. This may be due to the fact that the parents believe the boy is much more capable of being able to take care of himself and are worried about their daughters safety. However, she may not understand this and find it unfair which may lead her to break the relationship she has with her parents because she may feel as though they trust her brother more than her. However, to maintain a positive relationship, you should sit down and speak to her explaining to her why there is a difference in curfew times and that you only want the best for her. That way, she may understand the love and care you have for her and begin to look at the limits and boundaries set differently.
Discipline
This is not always about punishing your child after they've done something wrong. Instead, discipline should be about guiding your child's behaviour. Establishing clear rules that are understood by your child is an easy way to discipline your child. As mentioned earlier, your child will often tend to do the same thing you do and so by being a good role model, you are showing your child the correct way to behave. However, in order for your child to learn to the right thing, there should be consequences for poor behaviour however this does not mean physically abusing them.
Every parent has their own discipline methods and society often looks down upon smacking a child. Instead of using physical abuse, parents should look at different ways that will ensure their child realising the wrong they have done. For example, if your toddler hits another child, you could send them to time out in order for them to think about what they've done. Once their time is up, you should speak to them and ask them what they think they've done wrong and make sure they know why it was wrong. This type of punishment does not necessarily use physical contact but gives the child a chance to think about what went wrong. However, once the child grows older and becomes a teenager, their punishment differs. For example, they may miss curfew a few times so as a punishment, you may take away something they love such as their phone or disconnect them from using the WI-FI. That way, they know what they did was wrong as will try their best to not do it again.
Although it may seem as though you're being too harsh on them, without discipline, the child is bound to keep doing the same mistakes. Correct discipline can lead to building a positive relationship with your child as they may understand that you're only doing what's best for them and have their best interest at heart.
Some of the responsibilities of parents to their child include:
- Listening to and valuing a child's contribution
- Fostering positive self-esteem in children
- Ensuring the physical wellbeing of the child is met
- Providing a secure and safe environment
- Establishing and maintaining positive communication patterns
Along with these responsibilities, there are three main areas in which parents have responsibilities in and they are:
Duty of care
A parent has a duty of care over their child to ensure that all their needs are met. The wellbeing of the child is the most important and it is the responsibility of the parent to care for their child's wellbeing. In Australia, there are laws in relation to child welfare and protection. The Children (care and protection) Act 1987 (NSW) and Children and Young Persons (care and protection) Act 1998 (NSW) are laws put in place to protect children against the neglect and abuse by their parents or any adult.
Duty of care is constantly transferred and is not always necessarily passed on to someone who is blood related. When a parent takes their child to child care or school, they are handing the duty of care over to the workers until the child is back in the care of their parents.
By maintaining your duty of care as a parent, your child is more likely to put their trust in you and realise the love, care and affection you have towards them hence creating a stronger relationship with you.
Setting limits
It is your responsibility as a parent to set limits and guidelines for your child to follow. Using guidance is much more useful than severely punishing your child as that only distances them further. By setting limits, you're allowing your child to know what's expected from them, learn about fairness and respect others.
Children grow up and are mostly around their parents and so teaching them correct behaviours and setting out expectations in regards to how they should behave both around the family and in public is essential.
In some circumstances, the limits set for children vary depending on their gender. For example, the curfew of a boy child may be completely different to that of his sister regardless of their age. This may be due to the fact that the parents believe the boy is much more capable of being able to take care of himself and are worried about their daughters safety. However, she may not understand this and find it unfair which may lead her to break the relationship she has with her parents because she may feel as though they trust her brother more than her. However, to maintain a positive relationship, you should sit down and speak to her explaining to her why there is a difference in curfew times and that you only want the best for her. That way, she may understand the love and care you have for her and begin to look at the limits and boundaries set differently.
Discipline
This is not always about punishing your child after they've done something wrong. Instead, discipline should be about guiding your child's behaviour. Establishing clear rules that are understood by your child is an easy way to discipline your child. As mentioned earlier, your child will often tend to do the same thing you do and so by being a good role model, you are showing your child the correct way to behave. However, in order for your child to learn to the right thing, there should be consequences for poor behaviour however this does not mean physically abusing them.
Every parent has their own discipline methods and society often looks down upon smacking a child. Instead of using physical abuse, parents should look at different ways that will ensure their child realising the wrong they have done. For example, if your toddler hits another child, you could send them to time out in order for them to think about what they've done. Once their time is up, you should speak to them and ask them what they think they've done wrong and make sure they know why it was wrong. This type of punishment does not necessarily use physical contact but gives the child a chance to think about what went wrong. However, once the child grows older and becomes a teenager, their punishment differs. For example, they may miss curfew a few times so as a punishment, you may take away something they love such as their phone or disconnect them from using the WI-FI. That way, they know what they did was wrong as will try their best to not do it again.
Although it may seem as though you're being too harsh on them, without discipline, the child is bound to keep doing the same mistakes. Correct discipline can lead to building a positive relationship with your child as they may understand that you're only doing what's best for them and have their best interest at heart.