by April-Lynn Logan

Created on: June 06, 2009   Last Updated: June 07, 2009

Before starting the full debate on this subject, there are a couple points that need to be stressed. There are exceptions to the rule, certain mental disorders and such, that make it almost impossible to use typical parenting skills on the child.

This debate is the basis of nature vs nurture. There have been countless studies done on the subject and if all points of view were strewn together the conclusion comes to be that both have a bearing on any beings personality. That being said, personality type has a huge bearing on how a person re-acts.

The belief that a child is a wild seed and can not be controlled or disciplined is only half true. A parent needs to be thrifty in their discipline. They need to be able to adjust their parenting style on whim and utilize things that are present to deal with a child's behaviour. The problem with this is that most people were raised by their parents with capital punishment, or other means that they remember as being cruel. They swore that they never would treat their child the same way. This in it's self is not necessarily a bad thing because we are a consistently evolving species, but there is a down fall. Parents need to learn parenting skills from somewhere, unfortunately, the most easily available role model it one's own parents.

The average child of today are severely under disciplined because:

They are spoiled by guilt parents that feel they are falling short.

They are bribed because that tends to be the fastest easiest route.

Then there are the worst cases, where the child is misdiagnosed as being ADHD or ADD because they simply have too much energy.

Here is an example of a misdiagnosed child. The boy spends countless hours being bad. He is constantly needing correction and when his mother speaks to him, it is as if he did not hear her. She takes them to the doctor having heard of the miracle drug and he is diagnosed as ADHD, he shows the classic symptoms. This same child is at a family function, it has been a busy day and the mom forgets his morning dose. A relative is sitting on the couch watching a television program when said child takes a seat beside them. The conversation starts about the easter bunny, and continues for about forty five minutes. The child is engaged the whole time, even though it is very difficult to maintain a conversation about the easter bunny. The said child's mom walks into the room, and immediately his demeanor changes. He is running around like the energizer

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