To Be a Parent is a Profession

Dr. Maluh De Felice

I believe that being a parent is an art, which I compare to a profession, as it requires knowledge and effort. But how can someone start a career without ever having entered a classroom explicitly geared toward that profession? Even worse: how can someone begin a job without having attended classes or an internship in that field?

 

If parents have had nurturing parents, parenting will be a natural process, most intuitively. However, having been raised in an environment of disagreement between parents about views of the world and ideas on how to raise a child is not uncommon among those dating towards forming a family, or among those who already have a family and children.

 

The consequence is that another abusive home is being formed, as people tend to unconsciously replicate what they experienced as children. A vicious cycle is created, and to interrupt it and eventually change its course, there is a need to first get help to allow communication and an opening towards self-awareness of having been contributing to this "course heritage," as I call it.

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  The second step is to clearly take notes on the steps towards changing views and habits at home, including bringing the children into the process and taking the time, first, to privately meditate on them, then to discuss them with the family.

 

Finally, a redirection towards self-respect and love may occur, allowing parenting to become a self-growth experience, so that the couple's children may also have a balanced model of what parenting will require from them when they have children of their own. ​​

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