PARENTING

Critical Evaluation of an Evidence Based Parenting Intervention Program in Practice

Critical Evaluation of an Evidence Based Parenting Intervention Program in Practice

Introduction

Child rearing or parenting is essentially supporting and promoting the intellectual, social, emotional and physical development of children. This process is carried forth from infancy to adolescence and on toward adulthood. As such the concept of parenting keeps aside the biological relationship and focuses on child's development. More often than not, biological parents conduct parenting process for their children. However, societies and government in most developed countries have established social services that can take care of the child through facilitating parenting process. These unfortunate children are developed in orphanages, foster care or adopted families.

Research suggests that parenting styles are most influenced by variables including income, wealth and social class (Lareau, 2002). Moreover, money and its limitations is one of the defining factors in selection of parenting style. As such, it is important to understand, contrast, compare and evaluate various parenting styles and strategies. This should be done in order to understand the development of children and their behaviours, as well as understanding the contribution of the parenting styles towards such projections.

The variable of social class of the family plays a significant role in the resources and opportunities made available to the child. On the basis of this iteration it is assumed that children in working class families are at a disadvantage with regards to parental attention, communities and schooling. This differentiation is witnessed in comparisons with children born and raised in families with upper and middle class structures. Furthermore, a child in a lower working class family is not able to developed networking with members of upper and middle classes. Children in latter classes get helpful array of opportunities through their social network which includes community individuals, friends, family members, experts and professionals etc.

Objective

The main objectives of this paper are to attain the following learning outcomes, these are:

Compare, contrast and critically evaluate strategies and approaches to support positive parenting in respect of a child's physical, cognitive and / or social-emotional development;

Critically analysis of the challenges faced by our profession in working with families who have complex needs, suggesting how such families' engagement with the services available to them may be enhanced, and;

Provide a critical justification for professional supervision, critically reflecting on your accountability in family work and identifying areas for personal development.

Discussion

Parenting Styles

Diana Baumrind, a renowned developmental psychologist has given identities of three essential styles of parenting. These styles influence the early development of a child. These styles are permissive, authoritarian and authoritative. Further research led to addition of another style of parenting, this is the 'uninvolved style' (Baumrind, 1978; McKay, 2006). These styles of parenting include the combinations of responsiveness and acceptance on one scale, and input control and demand on the alternate scale (Santrock, 2007).

Social psychologists have purposed other theories such as the parental investment theory. This theory argues that parental investments by males and females are differentiated and have greater adoptive importance as it leads ...