Week 6

Growing up my mom tended to follow the authoritarian parenting style. A lot of people may say that this is not a good way to raise their child but a lot of other research suggests that is a one of the best ways. The way that Baumrind describes the three different parenting styles is odd to me. I don't think that any parent sticks completely to one way of raising their child. I know my mom was strict but yet she also showed some traits that were mentioned in the permissive and authoritative styles. Although my mom was more on the authoritarian side I have never been "quiet and not happy" as Baumrind states on page 274. On the bottom of that same page the author notes that there were a lot of problems with Baumrind's research. I completely agree with the line that says "She did not realize that some authoritarian parents are very affectionate. (Berger p. 274)."
When reading about the four different types of aggression it interested me a lot. During my older brother's middle school years he was such an angry child all the time. My parents were very worried that something was happening in school that was making him like this, but everything was fine. He had plenty of friends and never got picked on. I never knew that there were different types of aggression, I thought that aggression was just aggression. The book says that there are four types: instrumental, reactive, relational, and bullying aggression. I believe that my brother would fall under the relational aggression. He used to always try to hurt someone physically and or emotionally. He did this to feel better about him self, which is never the right thing to do. Seeing how my brother hurt my parents' feelings a lot it made become a very sensitive child. I saw how it made them upset so this may be why I did not follow the guide lines of having a authoritarian parent. Although many people always say that bullying happens mostly in grade school I disagree. I think that it happens for the reason that I saw it a lot during my years, but I also think that it happens a lot in college and in the work force. It may not be as verbal and direct as in grade school but its still there. When competing for a job people do a lot of talking behind backs and trying to ruin someone else's' work just to try to make themselves look better. I have even seen such bullying at my grandparents country club. So my question for anyone who is reading this, is do you think that bullying ever really ends? If you agree what are some experiences that you have encountered after grade school?