Globally, parenting is a critical factor in shaping various child mental, emotional, and behavioral outcomes (Liu & Guo, 2010; Taliep et al., 2018). Although parenting is a global phenomenon, cross-cultural studies indicate that there are differences in the various aspects of parenting (e.g., emotional development, discipline strategies, parent-child relationships, parenting goals, and overall beliefs about parenting) among families both within the United States and internationally (e.g., Bornstein, 2013). In this paper, I will use evidence from existing science in parenting and child development to 1) first discuss two aspects of parenting that vary, 2) chose one aspect and discuss two factors that influence it, and 3) discuss child outcomes associated with the factor chosen in 2 above.
Aspects that Vary
Of the many aspects of parenting, we have so far learned in this course, I will discuss discipline strategies and emotional development among families. Child discipline is one of the most contentious aspects of parenting facing today’s families globally (CITE). While some families favor physical disciple strategies such as slapping, spanking, and using the “rod,” other families prefer to use non-physical discipline strategies (e.g., time away, privilege removal, etc., CITE). In some instances, some families prefer to integrate physical and non-physical strategies to improve child behaviors and manage misbehavior. For example, growing up, my parents integrated both physical and non-physical strategies to discipline me and my siblings. The choice of which discipline strategy to use was based on the type of “crime” or rule broken. In general, research suggests that the goal of discipline should be to improve child behaviors and associated outcomes (e.g., improved academic performance) and to minimize child misbehavior (e.g., aggression; CITE).
In addition to variations in discipline strategies, parenting also varies in terms of emotional development. Emotional development refers to …. Empirical evidence shows that while some parents tend to have a positive view on emotions that is, they encourage their children to express their emotions and teach them healthy strategies emotional control emotions, other parents are uncomfortable with emotions (Asiimwe Lecture on
