As a teacher who recently stepped out of the profession I can honestly say that it has become more and more apparent that many parents are afraid to set boundaries for their children. The result – households where toddlers and young children and in other cases, teenagers, hold the household hostage to their tantrums, demands and outbursts.
In turn this translates to poor performance and/or experience at school since a child who is not required to observe boundaries at home has no idea how to deal with the boundaries that are necessary in schools.
There some key pointers to keep in mind when setting boundaries for children of all ages. The other key to success is consistency.
Young parents are often overwhelmed by the responsibility of parenting and in the age of psychological awareness often afraid to ‘parent’ their children for fear of ‘damaging’ them or worse yet, being seen as ‘uncool’ parents.
This is not limited to young parents alone, parents of teenagers also fall foul of this, particularly where one parent is relatively ‘absent’ and the parenting is left predominantly to the other.
Children who are not taught from a young age to respect boundaries are children who often become wilful, self-centred and socially inept. They struggle with authority and often have fraught relationships with their peers.
Successful boundary setting with children of all ages leads to well-adjusted individuals who respect others as well as the world around them.
By Lee Davidson
18 July 2015