The Psychology of Every Life: Love, Marriage, and the Baby Carriage - Parenting

3 important questions on The Psychology of Every Life: Love, Marriage, and the Baby Carriage - Parenting

What factors help a marriage transition into parenting?

Research has shown that couples that have the most realistic expectations of what life will be like once the baby is born have the easiest adjustment to parenthood. Additional protective factors include clarity and agreement about each parent's role, the establishment of routines, and protected time to devote to the marriage (e.g., weekly date night). Social support and financial stability also help the marital transition to parenthood.

What are the major issues relating to discipline?

Discipline is an essential aspect of parenting and inadequate discipline can be very detrimental to a child's development. Parents must aim to find the balance between appropriate limit setting and empathic acceptance of the child's developmental level. Finding the right balance is no easy task. Nonetheless, parents must search for the correct path between being too strict and controlling on one hand and being too permissive on the other hand.

What are the main ways that parenting styles vary across cultures?

While parenting in all cultures entails love, devotion, teaching, and discipline, there is considerable cultural variation in other aspects of parenting.

In general, more traditional, collectivist cultures (e.g. found in Asia and Africa) employ parenting styles that promote interdependence, respect for authority, and behavioral control.

Individualistic cultures (e.g., found in North America and North-Western Europe) promote independence, less hierarchical relationships, and greater freedom of self-expression.

Cultures also vary with regards to physical affection. For example, Northern European cultures have traditionally been more reserved about emotional expression and physical affection than Southern European cultures.

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