Parenting

I believe that in 2012 parents should have a balance between disciplining and friendship with their kids. Parents need to be friends in a way with their children. If their parents are not seen as friends their kid will be less likely to be open with their parents and talk about their problems. Without this communication they will try to solve their problems on their own, which may turn out to be even more trouble. However, parents should not only been seen as friends. If a parent is too much of a friend they will be taken advantage of and their child will still get in a lot of trouble. Setting boundaries with punishments and a fair system of punishment and reward, a couple's child will be more likely to grow up in good relations with their parents and helping them stay out of trouble.

This is the balance I hope to find if I have kids. Depending on how the child responds to certain punishments and rewards I'd have to tweak the system to make sure it fits the kid. Atticus raises his children much differently from the way I imagine raising my own. He doesn't dumb things down and I like that he exposes his children to reality instead of lying about it. I think lying about somethings in the real world hurt the kid later when they find out the truth, it crushes what they know and they realize they were lied to by their own parent. I don't think Atticus is more of an advisor than a father. He tries to teach Scout and Jem good values and sticks to the truth, however he also sympathizes with his children. When Dill comes over Atticus allows Dill to stay, knowing it would make his children happier. Atticus wants the best for his kids, and he believes that telling them the truth from the start will help them more later on in their lives. Growing up without their mother has affected the way they were raised. I think Scout would have had someone she could relate to more, especially as she gets older, if her mother was still around. Atticus kept Calpurnia who stepped up and helped fill a motherly figure for the kids. I think Atticus did a good job raising Jem and Scout. Both of his children avoid racism and were taught to be kind to everyone, regardless of skin color. His parenting technique worked for his children, and I think as they continue to grow the way they were raised they will be better off than many other children.