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Supporting Your Child's Schooling at Home > Characteristics of Parenting that Promote Academic Success |
Characteristics of Parenting that Promote Academic Success |
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The following three approaches to parenting are key to promoting academic success in children. While all parents fall somewhere between the extremes, research strongly indicates that parents who are closer to acceptance, firmness, and autonomy have children who are more successful in school. Three Ranges of Parenting ApproachesAcceptance <----------------> Rejection Accepting parents are affectionate, liberal with their praise, involved in their child's life, and responsive to their child's emotional needs. Children raised by accepting parents feel that they can turn to their parents when they have problems, that their parents encourage them, that their parents enjoy spending time with them, and that their parents are dependable sources of guidance or assistance. Firmness <----------------> Leniency Firm parents have clear rules that the child is expected to follow, and set clear expectations that the child will behave in a mature and responsible fashion. They are consistent. Children raised by firm parents know what their parents expect of them and that there are consequences for violating their expectations. Support of Autonomy <----------------> Control Parents who support autonomy in their child tolerate and encourage their child's sense of individuality. They encourage their child to express herself and enjoy watching her develop into a separate and autonomous individual. Children raised to be autonomous feel that self-expression is a valued trait, and that their parents' love and respect for them is not contingent on having the same opinions and ideas as their parents. They know that it's important for a person to speak up for what he believes. Based on: Beyond the Classroom: Why School Reform has Failed and What Parents Need To Do, Laurence Steinberg, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1996. |
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