Children who are raised in a two parent (husband and wife) nuclear family formation generally are more socially and emotionally stable than children raised in non-traditional families. This is so since both parents are important in the upbringing of a child as each of them has a specific role to play. Parenting is a practical practice which requires application of knowledge and skills in caring, nurturing and offering guidance to a child.
It is through the parents-child interaction that a child adopts a firm moral foundation and their characters are fortified. Presence of both parents helps in dissemination of social and emotional values in establishing the identity and individuality of a child. Therefore, child is able to develop trust and love both parents are present in his or her upbringing.
On the other hand, a single parent is sometimes unable to solely and properly cater for a child’s needs which is reflected as the child grows up to adulthood. Solely, he or she is unable to impart discipline, build permissibility, develop the child’s individuality and at the same time provide for the child psychological and physical needs. This may dent the relationship between the parent and a child which may cause the child to lose connection with the rest of the society.
A traditional nuclear family maintains an environment where there is harmony which is essential to for the development of a child. Such reassuring surroundings shape children into grown-ups who are able to adapt well in the society. A child who grows up in a traditional nuclear family is able to establish long lasting relationships by observing the father and mother as role models. Moreover, a child is able to enjoy a diverse range of skills as she or he grows up in such a family set up.
Both parents may agree on the best way to deal with their child’s behavior. They may employ authoritative parenting where they reason and communicate with their child, strikes an equilibrium between inflicting discipline and rewards. In this case, Parents prefer to reinforce the character of their child by being friendly and loving to their children which build their emotional and social traits (Benson & Haith, 2009).
Conversely, modern families are prone to permissive parenting due to the economic constrains which calls for a parent to work away from the child who mostly spends much time with a babysitter. A child may thus, be overly obsessed with too much freedom and fails to be properly counseled on socially putative customs.
A child may not be punished on wrong doing since when parents have no much time to spend with him or her. The consequence of such parenting style often produces children with low self-esteem and who are unable to fit socially (Benson & Haith, 2009).
Today, modern families have discarded the traditional family values as portrayed by a high rate of separation and divorce. Often, children falls victims in such families. After the parents are divorced, they may meet other spouses whom the children are not comfortable with. In most instances, financial constrains arise and these single parent may need to work for extra time which could be essentially spent with the children. As a result, deep emotions may be aroused even when deciding which parents to follow or inevitably live with.
These emotions are characterized by hatred, aggression and feelings of rejection which affects a child’s psychological development. Therefore, a child may have to break the emotional bond that previously existed with one parent since he or she is not adequately or entirely present during upbringing making the child suffer a negative ordeal (Dunning, 2004).
Therefore, Children who are raised in a two parent (husband and wife) nuclear family formation generally are more socially and emotionally stable, than children raised in non-traditional families.
References
Benson, J. B., Haith, M. M. (2009).Social and Emotional Development in Infancy and Early Childhood. San Diego: Academic Press.
Dunning, L. (2004). Good Parents Bad Parenting: How to Parent Together When Your Parenting Styles are World Apart. USA: Lulu Publishers.