The Importance of Both Parents in a Child's Life
Can we imagine a fatherless or motherless child is walking on the street and suddenly, he/she sees another child with both parents holding him/her, how would the child feel? Of course, the child would feel bad and insecure with one parent. Both parents play an integral role in their children’s lives from childhood, adolescent, to adulthood. As a child grows up, he/she learns several life lessons from both parents. However, today, the society feels that a child should be raise by the mother alone. While it is true that a mother and a father can play different roles in their child’s life, it is important that both parents put equal amounts of effort in raising a child because it is their duty to nurture this child. Therefore, both parents should assume equal responsibility in raising a child because this is important for their mental, physical, and behavioral growth and development. In addition, parents should share equal responsibility in raising a child because this child belongs to both of them and it will help improve their self-confidence and stability in the future.
Breaking the Myth: Mother's Responsibility vs. Father's Responsibility
Both parents should assume equal responsibilities in raising their children because these children belong to both of them. The myth that a mother should take care of the children because it is her responsibility as a woman is ambiguous because these children do not belong to the mother alone. It is true that there are specific things that a mother can do like breastfeeding the baby and feeding him/her because a father cannot breastfeed but they are not more responsible for the child more than the father (Deutsch 26). However, fathers can also play the part of feeding the baby, giving a bath, burping the child, changing diapers, and holding the child when he/she is awake and the mother is busy or resting. In addition, when the child is older, both parents can play the role of taking care of the child because it takes two to conceive a child and it should also take two to raise the child too. Both parents should be actively engaged in the caring and nurturing their children because these children belong to both of them and they are equally responsible for the children.
The Benefits of Shared Parenting for Children
Both parents should take equal responsibilities in raising their children because children raised with both parents in an intact family are more likely to be physically and mentally better off in their future lies. When children receive care and love from both parents, they tend to gain self-confidence around their home, school, and even with their peers because they feel protected since both parents are by their side (Fransson et al. 156). When a child grows up in a stable environment where parents share equal responsibilities in raising him/her, this child becomes secure and more confident in life and this can have a positive effect on his/her future life.
Emotional Well-being and Happiness in the Family
When both parents take an equal responsibility in raising their children, it increases happiness in the family. This way, both parents will spend time with their children and this brings a peaceful environment in a family because it creates a deep bond with the children. According to Warshak, parents are instruments in the development of a child as well as their emotional well-being (46). If parents fail to participate equally in their child’s life, the child will be affected emotionally thus end up sad and to the extreme with behavioral issues. Moreover, with care from only one parent, children feel that they are neglected by the missing party and this makes them sad and unhappy. In fact, they feel that the missing parent does not love them, which is why he or she is not available to help in times of need. Nothing is worse than a child feeling sad and lonely because one of her/his parents is missing yet the peers live with both parents. Let parents step up and take equal responsibilities in raising their children to make them happy and prevent them from feeling lonely and neglected thus ending up with behavioral problems.
The Fallacy of Unequal Parenting Responsibilities
Opponents argue that it is not necessary for parents to take equal responsibilities in raising a child because one parent is capable of doing it while the other is busy at work ensuring the needs of the family are met (Kruk 388). However, even though this argument might have some merit, we should note that children are all parents’ responsibilities and no excuse should be given when it comes to taking care of them. Let us assume that unfortunately one parent dies and is the one who takes care of the children, while the other is busy, who will assume the responsibility of taking care of the children? How will the busy parent assume the responsibility of taking care of the children when he/she is almost a stranger to them because he/she has been missing in action in the child’s life? It is important for both parents to assume equal responsibilities in taking care of the children while growing up because these children need them. In addition, sharing equal responsibility in raising a child is important because it is for the best interest of the child’s development and society. Being super easy with the excuse that one is working to support the family is not more important than being present in a child’s life.
The Importance of Both Parents for a Child's Growth and Development
It is sad that today, most children do not grow up with both parents on their side because some of them are separated while in some cases, the men leave the children with their mothers. A child needs both parents by his/her side while growing up because growing up without both of them can lead to behavioral problems and commitment issues in their lives. In addition, Gronhoj and Thogersen note that some of these children might end up doing drugs and alcohol due to lack of proper upbringing since they are used to one parent (19). Parents should step up and take equal responsibilities in raising their children because it is important for the life of the child and the society at large. Naturally, a stable family is made up of a father, mother, and the children. Therefore, parents should assume equal responsibilities in raising their children for their growth and development's sake because, with care from both parents, children will grow up more confident and happy.
The Power of Shared Parenting
In conclusion, unquestionably, parents should assume equal responsibilities in raising their children. It takes two people for a baby to be conceived, and so the same way, the two people should work together by taking equal responsibilities in taking care of the child they conceived. Each parent needs to do what needs to be done and stop overloading one parent with the responsibility of raising a child. A child belongs to both parents and so both should bear the burden of parenting because this is important for their mental, physical, and behavioral growth and development. How a child is raised significantly affects his/her behavior as a youth/adult. Therefore, shared parenting brings up children who are strong and happy children because children who have been raised by both parents become more confident as adults and do not have behavioral problems.
Works Cited
Deutsch, Francine M. "Equally Shared Parenting." Current Directions in Psychological Science 10.1 (2001): 25-28.
Fransson Emma et al. Why Should they Live More with One of Us when they are Children to Us Both?: Parents' Motives for Practicing Equal Joint Physical Custody for Children Aged 0–4. Children and Youth Services Review, 66 (2016): 154-160.
Gronhoj, Alice, and Thogersen John. "Why Young People do Things for the Environment: The Role of Parenting for Adolescents’ Motivation to Engage in Pro-Environmental Behavior." Journal of Environmental Psychology 54 (2017): 11-19.
Kruk, Edward. "Arguments Against a Presumption of Shared Physical Custody in Family Law." Journal of Divorce " Remarriage 59.5 (2018): 388-400.
Warshak, Richard A. "Social science and parenting plans for young children: A consensus report." Psychology, Public Policy, and Law 20.1 (2014): 46.
