Parents play an important role in the development of their children. Some studies by psychologists have revealed that parenting styles and practices that are adopted by parents influence children's behavioral, social, and cognitive development. Parents, therefore, try to affect the development of their children in a positive way. Parenting practices differ from one generation to another because they are influenced by social, cultural, and economic factors. Parents used different parenting styles when raising baby boomers, generation X, and millennials or generation Y. Therefore, the three generations that have been selected for this assignment include grandparents, parents, and adult children and the parenting practices to be compared are education, religious involvement, breastfeeding, and punishment.
Table Comparing Parenting Practices of the Three Generations
| Parenting practice | Generation 1-Grandparents (The Children were raised between 1930 and 1945. They are averagely 70-years old. Both male and female children are considered, and the country is the USA in North America region) | Generation 2-Parents ( The children were raised between 1945 and 1960, and they are averagely 55 years old. Both male and female children are considered, and the country is the USA in North America region) | Generation 3- Adult children. The children were raised between 1960 and 175, and their average age is 35. Both male and female children are considered and the country is the USA in the North America region |
| Education |
-Education was not given the priority and children were not motivated to go to school -Children were mainly encouraged to work and support their parents |
-Education was given a priority and children were encouraged to go to school -Parents wanted their children to get the best education. |
-Children were required to go to school to succeed in life -Education was given a priority |
| Breastfeeding |
-Many parents did not breastfeed their children within the period required -Children were given animal milk |
-Parents preferred to give their children breast milk than animal milk |
-parents highly embraced breastfeeding. -Children were breastfed for months |
| Religious involvement |
-Children were encouraged to go to church. -The dominant denominations were Catholics and Protestants |
-Children were required to be religious and participate in religious activities | -Children were encouraged to engage in religious activities |
| Punishment | -Children were misbehaved were harshly punished and were mostly caned | -Parents punished their children through beating | -Physical punishment declined. Children were mainly punished by denying them privileges |
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Comparison of Parenting Practices for the three Generations
Parenting practices among the three generation have some similarities and differences. The major similarity across the generations is religious involvement as children were encouraged to participate in religious activities such as going to church. Religion has remained an important factor in families for many years. Both G2 and G3 children were encouraged to go to school because education was seen as the way to success. However, G1 children were not encouraged to go to school but rather to support the family. The practice of breastfeeding has increased gradually from G1 to G3. G1 did not embrace breastfeeding but this changed with years ( Wolf, 2003) . Also, the harshness of punishment declined from G1 to G3. G1 children received harsher punishment than G2. Nevertheless, G3 children did not always receive physical punishment because of the emphasis on child rights.
The Cohort Effects
The major factor that affected the ability of G1 to take their children to school was the Great Depression that occurred between 1930 and 1940, which reduced family income significantly ( Granados & Roux, 2009) . Consequently, children were required to take up jobs to support their families. Parents were also not able to afford school fees and learning materials for their children. However, the US gained its economic stability after the Great Depression and parents could afford to take their children to school. G2 and G3 children, therefore, were taken to school.
The belittling and emphasis on pasteurized cow milk reduce the crusade for breastfeeding in the 1930s and 1940s ( Wolf, 2003) . A significant number of mothers stopped breastfeeding their children. The trend changed in the 1950s when, which was influenced by the women’s health reform movement, making G2 and G3 to be breastfed with their mothers. However, American is a highly religious country, which explains why parents across generations have been encouraging their children to participate in religious activities. Besides, the rampant violation of laws made parents of G1 to embrace harsh punishment as a way of modeling the behavior. Nonetheless, the championing for human rights made parents to shun corporal punishment.
Contextual Factors
The major contextual factor that made parents of G1 and G2 embrace education was the general perception that education leads to success in life. Parents took their children to school to have a better future. Improved health literacy made parents to understand the importance of breastfeeding to their children ( Kotchick & Forehand, 2002) . Unlike G1 that was largely illiterate, G2 and G3 were literate, and they could understand health issues. According to Kotchick and Forehand (2002), r eligion is also embraced by Americans since the 1930s because it gives them hope in life when there is a self-perceived vulnerability. Physical punishment was used by both the government and the society and parents adopted it as a way of correcting children. However, this changed as other forms of punishment emerged.
Importance of Understanding Contextual Factors and Cohort Effects
It is important to understand the contextual factor and cohort effects because they have a significant influence on parenting practices. They guide in understanding why some practices are embraced at any given generation ( Kotchick & Forehand, 2002) . Besides, they help in providing a general parenting guideline that applies to generation. Parenting is important, and it should be understood to influence child development positively.
Conclusion
Parenting practices vary from one generation to another. There are numbers of factors that influence the parenting practices that are adopted by the society. Therefore, parents should know the most appropriate parenting practices to improve the behavior and cognitive development of their children. The application of relevant parenting practices is beneficial to parents, children, and society at large.
References
Granados, J. A. T., & Roux, A. V. D. (2009). Life and death during the Great Depression. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 106 (41), 17290-17295.
Kotchick, B. A., & Forehand, R. (2002). Putting parenting in perspective: A discussion of the contextual factors that shape parenting practices. Journal of child and family studies , 11 (3), 255-269.
Wolf, J. H. (2003). Low breastfeeding rates and public health in the United States. American Journal of Public Health , 93 (12), 2000-2010.
