The Progressive School Vol 02 Issue 04

Types of parents
We are influenced by how we were
raised (incorporating methods or doing
the opposite). Parenting styles have
been found to predict a child’s wellbeing
in the area of social competence,
academic performance and psycho-social
development. The four parenting styles
are Authoritarian Parents, Permissive
Parents, Authoritative Parents, Rejecting/
Neglecting Parents.
Studies reveal that the decadesold
parenting principle of being an
Authoritative Parent is what our kids
need today. This style of parenting relies
on a balance between parental control
and parental warmth. An Authoritative
parent strives to have a strong, loving
relationship with his children, yet they
also provide high expectations and
definite limits that help kids meet
expectations. Children raised with this
parenting style perform better in school,
are less hostile and have greater selfesteem,
they show more purpose and
independence in their activities, are more
self-reliant, more socially competent,
have positive coping skills and have a
clear understanding of acceptable and
unacceptable behaviors.
Strict parenting can turn children
into adept liars as they do not feel safe
telling the truth, experts have claimed.
Psychotherapist Philippa Perry says a
child should not be solely to blame for
lying as the parenting style has a big
impact on their ability readiness to fib.A
study by Canadian psychologist Victoria
Talwar, using the ‘Peeping Game’
reinforced the claims. Examination two
schools in West Africa, one with stricter
rules and the other with a more laid back
approach, researchers asked children to
guess what object was making a noise
in the game.
According to game, people are asked
to identify the objects by sound only,
with the last one bearing no correlation
to what it looks like. The researchers
then left the room and on return
Dr. Upendra Kaushik
asked the children what the object was,
and if they peeked. Talwar found that
the number of students from the relaxed
school who lied and told the truth
was roughly on par with studies from
other schools. But those from the strict
school were quick to lie, and did it “very
effectively.”
Technology bombardment
As a parent, we not only need to
keep ourselves updated with parenting
skills but also what is happening in our
child’s life especially with the drastic
changes/advancement in technology.
Being online on social networking sites
and apps is a part of children’s lives and
with technology changing all the time
and new apps, games and networks
becoming popular day by day it can be
difficult to keep up.
The American Academy of Paediatrics
(AAP) recommends monitoring the use
of websites and social media platforms
children visit by parents. “Technology
per se is not bad. It is needed for the
overall development of children. But
overdependence on it is certainly a
worrying trend. Such children often
interact less with parents or avoid
participating in real life activities,“
said Dr. Kameshwar Prasad,
Professor and Head of
Neurology at AIIMS.
Digital parenting
isn’t different to offline
parenting in many ways.
What can be tricky is
that the online world
is often hidden from
view and needs to be
monitored closely.
While in India, the
data on overdependence on
technology among pre-teens is
scarce, global data suggests even
six to ten years olds are hooked to
technology that distracts and exposes
children to online bullying, among other
things. “We have come across many
children who are good at solving tough
puzzles in online or app-based games.
But when they are asked to solve a
simple mathematic equation, they find
it difficult,“said Dr. Pravat Mandal,
Professor of Neuroimaging at National
Brain Research Centre. NBRC, he added,
plans to take up the project to map the
brain activity of children hooked to
technology from a young age, and use it
to assess the impact of technology.
TOI had reported in February about
two brothers who were addicted to gaming
and required a month of rehabilitation in
the psychiatry ward of Ram Manohar
Lohia (RML) Hospital. Always engrossed
in gaming, they had no time for studies,
meals, bathing or changing clothes. They
slept fitfully, ignored phone calls and the
doorbell, and twice turned a blind eye
to robbers cleaning out their house. The
most odious symptom of their decline was
the habit of defecating and urinating in
their clothes while playing.
For the first time, two psychiatrists
claim to have proven through research
that the obsessive need to post selfies
or selftis is a mental condition and those
suffering from it may need professional
help. Janarthanan Balakrishnan from
Thiagarajar School of Management in
Madurai and Mark D Griffiths of UK’s
Nottingham Trent University, the two
researchers have based their claim on
the responses they got from 400 young
students pursuing management courses
at two colleges in India, the names of
which have not been disclosed. According
to the researchers, they targeted Indian
students because India has maximum
Facebook users and it accounts for more
selfie deaths in the world compared
to any other country – with 76 deaths
reported from a total 127 worldwide.
In this research, results of which have
been published in International Journal
of Mental Health Addiction, the authors
confirm three levels of selftis : borderline,
acute and chronic. Borderline cases
include people who take selfies at least
three times a day but don’t post them
on social media. Acute selftis involves
people who post them on social media.
The chronic sufferers are those who feel
an uncontrollable urge to take selfies
and post them more than six times daily.
In their study involving the students —
mostly aged between 16 and 25 years
– 40-50% subjects fell in the category of
acute selfitis, 34% were in the borderline
category and 25.20% suffered chronic
selfitis.
www.progressiveschool.in
JUL-AUG-SEP 2018
THE PROGRESSIVE SCHOOL
29