This I Believe

The religious icon Buddha preached often to his followers. One of his messages was to “believe nothing. No matter where you read it, or who said it, even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your common sense.” The Buddha’s intendment was to have people think for themselves, not to believe whatever they are taught. Raised a Roman Catholic, I have always believed in the principles and ethics of that faith, strictly because it was what my parents had taught me to believe. Growing up and learning to think for myself, and listening to the stories of others on the This I Believe program has forced me to consider this message given by Buddha. There were three speakers in particular that sparked an interest within me. Whitney Harris, Penn Jillette, and Joel Engardio all challenged the way I view not only my religion, but the world.

Instead of bothering parents, the child attends to his/her toys. If the toys do not get the child's

My mother was always stuck watching and taking care of her younger siblings. Sometimes she would get in trouble for not making sure they stayed out of trouble. Not having her own privacy was common for her, since they lived in a...

When children grow up where they get what they want when they want, it’s hard for parents to take responsibility because the child might cry or whinge for days on end trying to get their way. Parents have to stand up to children and teach them they can’t get ...

This is one of three styles based on the work of Diana Baumrind (1967, 1971). The definition is parents who set limits and enforce rules but are flexible and listen to their children (Berger, 2010). Each child is different and would require an evolving upbringing as they grow. What seems to work is listening and observing a child’s needs emotional, physical and mental, then taking that information in to account when disciplining. You should try to set a good example of behavior for them. Allow the child to understand what they did wrong by saying NO and taking them to a different area. As the child’s cognition matures you should start explaining why the intended action was wrong, in a calm demeanor. Favorite toys can be taken for a limited time, whatever your method be consistent so your child will have a feeling of stability and truly know right from wrong. Some nonproductive examples would be screaming, hitting or ignoring your child when they have misbehaved. These actions can cause emotional and physical harm and should be avoided (Disciplining Your Child,

In order to avoid possible punishment or confrontation, children with strict parents avoid discussing their personal life all together. The vast majority of the population believe withdrawal during teenage years is inevitable; however most families actually remain close. Problems arise when “adolescents want more independence and parents want more closeness and communication.”(Russell and Bakken). These problems are easily resolved through a mutual understanding of each other; however a process of separation begins when parents inflict harsh rules with no empathy to their kid’s constantly changing needs. To put things into perspective, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland illustrates a similar scenario. After enduring several chimerical height fluctuations, Alice vents to the caterpillar that she can’t understand herself because “being so many different sizes in a day is very confusing.”(Carroll 60). Carroll uses Alice’s struggle of never being her ideal size as a symbol for the frustration puberty afflicts on young-adults. Upon the caterpillar invalidating her troubles, Alice grows irritated and walks away from his advice. (Carroll 61). If adults do not take a child’s problems in consideration, why should a child take an adults advice in consideration? Two youth development specialists explain that “If adults are flexible and good listeners, adolescents will be more likely to turn to them for advice and guidance.”(Russell and Bakken). Feeling comfortable to seek advice from adults is extremely necessary especially when a child needs advice that is not tendentious. Allowing autonomy in childhood mutually benefits the parent as much as the child by satisfying both parties’

Siblings compete with one another to secure physical, emotional, and intellectual resources from parents. Depending on differences in birth order, gender, physical traits, and aspects of temperament, siblings create differing roles for themselves within the family system. These differing roles in turn lead to disparate ways of currying parental favor. (Epstein, 1997, p.51)

In The Joy Luck Club there were many incidences where several of the children were striving for their parents approval. The first example could be when June, the daughter of Suyuan just couldn’t find out what she was good at. She tried many different things and the closest she got was the piano. Her mother wanted her to follow through because she seen the potential June had but June just didn’t seem to care all that much about piano making it difficult for her to get the approval she seeks. Another time where this happens could be when June went to go see her sisters.

Looking back at my past, I recall my mother and father’s relationship as if it were yesterday. I am only four years old, small and curious; I tended to walk around my home aimlessly. I would climb book shelves like a mountain explorer venturing through the Himalayans, draw on walls to open windows to my own imagination, or run laps around the living room rug because to me I was an Olympic track star competing for her gold medal; however my parents did not enjoy my rambunctious imagination. My parents never punished me for it but would blame each other for horrible parenting skills; at the time I did not understand their fights, but instead was curious about why they would fight.

On the website Debate! TIME For Kids it states “Supporters argue that children are better off if they aren’t told what to like, how to act, and what to play with. They see it as healthy for kids to experiment with different toys and different interests”. When it says “children are better off if they aren’t told what to like?” that means that children can like whatever they're into and it’s good