Tag Archives: parents

blog 7


In blog 5, I mentioned about a public issue that I was passionate about, which is proper parenting and “gun control”. My targeted audience in this blog would definitely have to be parents, or anyone who is planning/becoming a parent. The goal of the post is to spread awareness that your influence as a parent, aunt, and uncle plays a crucial role in any child’s life. Because kids pick up things so fast, it is easy to influence them, even when you didn’t think or plan it. This sounds ridiculous but i’m only sharing it because, this is as real as it gets. A few weeks back, I was babysitting my 3 years old twin cousins, which I do quite often. My little sister was recording me do a wall twerk on snapchat and, without realizing that my young cousins were watching, they copied my exact position and attempt to do it too. Kind of random, but, it’s an example. What I’m saying is, you never know when they’re paying attention, therefore, just be aware of what you’re doing and saying when around any child. Also, be aware of how you’re treating them. A lot of the reasons why kids become bullies is because of the lack of love and attention. Yes, we live in a world where if only one parent works, it’ll make it hard to make a living, let alone feed your kids. But it doesn’t mean you should let “working” be an excuse to why you can’t spend time with your child. The first stages of a child’s life is the most important, it is the foundation of who they will become. Don’t miss out on it, let alone, don’t let it go to waste. This could fall in 1.8: Behavioral Economics Theories. Where an environment can be affected to facilitate desirable behaviors. Attached is a link that showcases a study that claims second-born children are more likely to be trouble makers. THIS! I can vouch for. Not just the second child, I think that this can affect any child that is not the first or last. I am the fourth in my family, and I can guarantee you that all of us, after my older sister (first child) and my younger sister (last child) are trouble makers. I’m not sure why my other sibling are trouble makers, i’m not sure of their personal reasonings. But, in my case, all I can remember was wanting my parent’s love and attention. Like most parents now, my parents were immigrants, therefore, they had to work twice as hard. Especially since they had 6 extra mouths to feed, leaving my older to babysit us. My parents were always giving my older sister attention because she was the first to experience everything. Making her the more ambitious one like the article mentioned, “People like to say that first-born children are more motivated and more ambitious than their younger siblings, who, in turn, might end up more easygoing — possibly as a result of their mom and dad having loosened up on the parenting a bit after being super hands-on with their first kid” (Stuart, para. 2.) My parents were learning to be parents in America too, you may think, “parents in America?” but, parenting in America is far different from parenting from where my parents came from. My dad worked two jobs, my mom worked third shift. They never had time for us, not by choice, of course. But because I never got attention and “love” from them, I sought out acceptance from other people, such as my friends. One of my brother temporarily joined a gang, it was crazy. On the bright side, things eventually got better. We matured and figured out why our parents were never home, making us all appreciate them more. Not that I enjoyed growing up being extremely needy, but I like who I’ve become. And because life was such a struggle growing up, I never take my parents for granted. The environment you raise your child in plays a crucial role in their life. Like the theory model, I mentioned, behavioral economics, it talks more about the economics factors such as laws, regulations, and such, which I could correlate to my family’s situation too. Because, of the “parenting in America” I mentioned prior, it affected how my parents raised us, versus how they would’ve raised us if we were back in their homeland. But because they felt the need to have jobs in order to pay for utilities, rent, etc, it limited their time with us. Causing a domino affect on how we all grew up. My parents were young when they immigrated to the U.S. They were at most, in their early-mid twenties? They, themselves were growing up too. In Laos, you didn’t need “jobs.” You just needed land to grow your own food. According to my dad, you fed your own family. You went to the farm together, you ate together, you spent time together. In America, kids go to school (thankfully,) while parents work. In most immigrant cases, parents had to work harder for a longer time, all just for a small wage. So, I guess my audience would also be the government/congress, haha. Make it a law where all jobs are required to allow parents for a longer paid maternity leave to spend time with their kids. No child should lack their parent’s attention and love because of having to work just to keep a roof over their families heads, or meals on the table.


Blog 5

I think that a recent and public issue that I am passionate about is a mixture of proper parenting, and “gun control”. This correlates with the recent unfortunate event in February about the Parkland Shooting that occurred in Florida. I think that the misconception of the whole incident is not gun control but proper upbringing, and a stable morality in the household. A lot of what we do around kids can highly effect them and reflect who they could grow up to be. In the article, “‘He Was Being a Little Bully’: Video Shows Father Punishing his 10-Year-Old with Run in the Rain,” by The Washington Post, they highlight how the Virginia father, Bryan Thornhill, disciplined his son by having him run to school. Long story short, the son was being a bully on the bus, therefore he was unable to ride the bus for three days. Taking actions for his son’s behavior, the father made it his goal to teach his son the consequences of being a bully by running to school, even if it meant running in the rain (it was sprinkling.) The father also mentioned in his video that they only lived a mile away from the school, hence the punishment was reasonable and no harm to his son. He also mentions how it is his priority to teach his son now instead of letting his son grow up to think it’s okay to hurt others. In addition to that, he mentions how parents should be more involved in their child’s life cause it will reflect their growth and who they become. In result, the father says it has improved his son’s behavior at school and at home. Thornhill also emphasizes that parenting should be the importance on any child’s upbringing, not gun controlling. If you can control and properly raise your child to have ethical morals, there would be no need for gun control. He also quoted, “I can control guns easily forever. This, I’ve got to make sure I control now,” in his video. In the case of the shooter in Florida, his attorney was quick to blame it on a mental disorder. Claiming that Nikolas Cruz was a “troubled child,” as if it was an excuse to his behavior. Thornhill mentions in the interview that his son has ADHD, despite that, he also states, “I’m not going to let that define him and limit him. He’s going to have to take responsibility for his actions.  We can’t use our handicap as our excuses in life. We have to find a way to move on.”

In March of 2018, The Washington Post also posted an article about the Parkland shooter, literally illustrating the red flags from his early life up to the event of the shooting. Documenting his case of ADHD, his public announcement of plans to shoot up the school via his Instagram, medical negligence, and many more red flags indicating the lack of supervision and guidance he had throughout his life. In this article, they want their audience to see that Cruz has had red flags since the early stages of his life. Yes, there was contributing events, such as his father and mother’s death, that led him to be without proper care but, it truly shows how much a parent role influences their child’s behavior and actions. Therefore, be an actual parent. Don’t just bring them to the world and expect teachers or coaches to make them good people. Good upbringing starts at home, not at school. Being a parent is obviously challenging in varies scenarios, but don’t neglect it just because it’s hard. Being a parent means taking initiative that you’re responsible for actually raising another human being and teaching them right from wrong. Schools are not always responsible for that.



Are Parents to blame for their children being obese?


While parents aren’t to blame fully for their children being obese, they certainly can contribute to certain actions that can create better attitudes towards food, eating habits, and physical activity. This article I found was blaming our environment for children being obese. Which I don’t totally disagree with. The high cost of food and lack of time can really impact nutritional needs of children. But, with all do respect to parents I think unlike the article that says it has nothing really to do with the parents, I would have to disagree on some extent. My parents made wise decisions about meals and snacks in our home, and they were by no means super wealthy average middle class family. They taught me to cook meals from home and not waste my money eating out unless it was absolutely necessary. Also my family when I was a child could not afford to eat out a lot, which forced us to eat in. I think parents hold the option to make eating decisions and habits within the house hold which can repeat in the child life as he or she gets older. Not always the case but I believe can affect the way the child thinks or feels about food and when and when not to eat. Image

Also, WIC now has way more produce options than they did in the past. Which can provide for celery and peanut butter for a great snack and topped with raisins. I know this because I had to create a week meal plan and snacks on a WIC budget. If a parent finds the resources and wants to know about nutrition for their child they CAN find assistance. 

I just feel like the article doesn’t take in consideration the role a parent can play in a child’s nutrition. While parents are not to blame for the whole child hood obesity problem. Parents definitely do play a role in it. Parents provide the power of saying, “hey lets take a fifteen min walk before you play your video game.” or “Lets have grapes today instead.”  I understand its easier said than done sometimes, but even swapping out unhealthy choices for healthier options every now and again can make a difference.