February 28, 2005
Proper Parenting!
1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
The shift in disciplining your children has changed from a punishment to a reward system. This is a relatively new trend that has become increasingly popular
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
The participants in the debate would obviously be parents and child psychologists. The controversy involves whether it is better for the child to be punished for bad behavior or to be rewarded for good behavior.
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with. Causes - child abuse, children developing with mental issues, child psychology. Effect - wild children, wont discipline their children, learn responsibility for their actions, control the parents, strong headed, liberal
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
I have not decided which approach to use, I want to look up information first and see what I can find before I decide to discuss causes or effects. I believe the effect will be the best approach to look at because most parents are concerned with how their children will turn out later in life.
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
I want to read recent books on child raising as well as older books. I want to look up articles written by child psychologists about the effects disciplining has on children today.
Mendy,
This is an interesting topic. I am not sure if there is any controversy over what has caused the switch to a reward-based system of child rearing. I think that the more productive way to develop an argument would be to focus on the effects of the reward-based systems, both positive and negative, including effects on children, on education, on family dynamics, etc. The goal of the cause/effect argument is not necessarily to pass judgment based on negative effects, but to explore all the effects taking a stand on the ones people disagree about. Let me know how you decide to handle the assignment.