Sample Essay On Life Experience AND Parenting

Three life events that define what I am today

Brought up in a conservative society
Going to college at a time when it was difficult for any Chinese students to go to college, despite this I was determined to succeed in my education. Through both support and pressure from my parents, I am so lucky to have such parents. It was difficult for me because I seemed the only one defying the odds. Going to college was against my society expectations then.

Cultural differences

The other event that took place in my life and affected me was when I became a mother to my very lovely daughter. I struggled with the transition from being my mother's daughter to taking up the responsibility of a mother. I had problems raising my daughter in the United States because of cultural differences, and the fact that I was brought up in a conservative Chinese society made it more difficult.

Unsuccessful marriage and betrayal by a loved one

It was difficult dealing with a divorce after a long period of marriage life and love. I found it hard to accepting betrayal by my husband whom I helped go through his education then later leave me. It was not easy bringing up my daughter and training her to live without her father. I was depressed and started to issue orders to my daughter and sometimes she was unhappy about it. Putting up with work, bringing up my daughter and schoolwork again is not easy. However, I appreciate the support I get from my parents and the extended family not only financially but also emotionally.

Parenting principles

Childcare and upbringing
Child caring involves several activities, which include attending to children, feeding and protecting them. These parental activities are supported by affection, but effective parenting involves checked affection especially for older children. The law, religious beliefs and other work analogies in part define these activities. The law regards parents as guardians of their children from birth to maturity. As a child, I received all the love and affection I needed from my parents they did all they could to give me the best (Hayes 2013).
Children need their parents from breastfeeding as infants, to satisfy their nutritional and emotional needs. Bottle-feeding helps initiate a secure attachment. Through observance of feeding cues for infants and children, feeding them when hungry and stopping them when it is enough. By offering health choices of food, children develop a healthy eating behavior.
Responding to children needs with sensitivity helps, build trust from infancy. Understanding what they are trying to communicate needs calm, emphatic and loving parents. This will help them in the control of emotions. As infants, touch ensures their need for physical contact is met; they feel much secure and develop affection. This stimulates movement in infants. For older children, hugs, massage, back rubs and play meets the physical need.
Children rely on their parents to soothe their intense emotions; there are psychological and physiological effects that arise from sleep training. It is necessary for parents to adopt good sleep training techniques for their children. Having a responsive caregiver for a child is necessary to strengthen the bond and reduce chances of fear and stress in times of short separations. Teaching a child good discipline helps build compassion for others and an internal conscience for own discipline.
Because of the care and good upbringing I had from childhood to adulthood, I developed the virtue of caring and support. I am determined to support my daughter as a single mother. It is argued that little affection is considered effective; this is why my parents would pressure me to pursue my education for my own good amid challenges. Despite the cultural convictions that it was difficult for any Chinese student join college; my parents insisted I should defy the norm. At times, I also apply this to my daughter through the issuance of orders to make her do some things for her own good.
Bringing up a child in a different generation and different cultural background is challenging, as it was the case with my daughter. I had to harmonize my conservative background with the liberal United States values where she was born to ensure a well upbringing. Trying to use what my parents taught me then as the guidelines for good parenting, was a challenge because times have changed (Rodriguez, 2009).

A supportive and strong family

Having children may be creating or continuing a family. A strong and supportive family is an important aspect of the parenting life of a child; it gives children a preconception of what and how a family should be. Children learn easily from what they see; their future actions are highly influenced by what they have learnt in childhood and believe to be right. My decision to get into marriage was influenced by the desire to have a strong and supportive family to back my children as my parents did to me (Kars, 2008). It is, therefore, necessary to recognize one's needs in a family, satisfy them without any compromise to both emotional and physical health. A parent should enjoy parenting and ensure the family is taken care of without compromise to their emotions and physique.
Because of the supportive virtue in me, I had to support my husband through his education when I could as my parents did to me. My hard work to put up with supporting my family, career and education at the same time has roots in my parent’s pressure for hard work.
Developing a good relationship between the family, parents, and a child's teacher will help discover some social concerns in a child. The financial and emotional support from my family has helped me a great deal to handle all sorts of depression and move on with life despite all the challenges. Through appreciation from my family, I was assured of a place and hands to fall in difficult times as those days we divorced with my husband

Communication, time together and appreciation as a family

Communication between parents and their children is important because children will easily share what they feel with their parents. This is made possible through enhanced relationships and having time together as members of a family. Efforts to impart social skills in a child require a combination of the parent, teacher and family commitment. Appreciating children by parents and other members of the family give them courage and build their esteem to tackle certain life challenges. (Woodgate, 2008).

How my class knowledge and experience affect my future parenting.

A good childhood foundation is important to children because it forms the basis for their future. Some childhood experiences will influence future actions and decisions made by the child. Therefore, I am determined to give the best parental care and affection checking on the parental mistakes that can easily result in negative decisions in future by my child.

How my class knowledge and experience will influence facilitation of other parenting.

As a student in this course and with experience in parenting, I understand the effects of good and poor parenting. I would like to advance my studies along the same line through additional research on parental skills. I look forward to publishing an article on the same; create public awareness through media platforms and seminars to ensure other people benefit from proper parenting skills. I will use my personal experience to touch on the areas that are critical to parenting, to ensure that other parents and children are not victims of poor parenting but rather beneficiaries of good skills (Zhou, 2008). My daughter whom I have brought up without her father, I will try to ensure this does not affect her future life as a mother. Through guidance and support for her, I believe I can achieve this to avoid any negative conception of making a family because of what she has seen happen between her parents.
As a parent, I would advise other parents sometimes to go out of their way and order their children do certain things that are of importance to them and might help them in future. Things such as education are critical to children and at times, they should give them pressure to pursue studies despite the children will and the affection they have for them.

References

Hayes, S. A., & Watson, S. L. (2013). The impact of parenting stress: A meta-analysis of studies comparing the experience of parenting stress in parents of children with and without autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43(3), 629-642.
Kars, M. C., Duijnstee, M. S., Pool, A., Van Delden, J. J., & Grypdonck, M. H. (2008). Being there: parenting the child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Journal of clinical nursing, 17(12), 1553-1562.
Rodriguez, A., & King, N. (2009). The lived experience of parenting a child with a life-limiting condition: A focus on the mental health realm. Palliative and Supportive Care, 7(01), 7-12.
Woodgate, R. L., Ateah, C., & Secco, L. (2008). Living in a world of our own: The experience of parents who have a child with autism. Qualitative health research, 18(8), 1075-1083.
Zhou, Q., Wang, Y., Deng, X., Eisenberg, N., Wolchik, S. A., & Tein, J. Y. (2008). Relations of parenting and temperament to Chinese children's experience of negative life events, coping efficacy and externalizing problems. Child development, 79(3), 493-513.