Relations between children and their parents

There are different levels of respect for the elderly, and more specifically for parents depending on the culture. In the US, the way a child treats their parents can alter drastically from one subculture to the next. My focus will be on learning about the differences of parent and child relations of several families in Arcata and possibly Eureka.

I have been fascinated by the differences in the relationships between children and their parents. Going to friends’ houses when I was young, I was astonished at how differently my friends treated their parents and how their parents treated them. While some of my friends couldn’t talk back to their parents without getting a bar of soap in their mouths or a timeout, others flat out scream at their parents with no consequences. Some Moms coddled their kids, being at their beck and call well into their senior year of high school. Others put the heavy responsibility on their kids of taking care of themselves at a young age. I am interested in learning about the current relationships between parent and child of the families I interview, but also about the history of the relationships.

I’ve learned through the relationship I have with my parents that things can change drastically over time, which leads to the next area I want to study. How have parental relations with their children changed over time? Strengthened? Weakened? Did the children get along better with their parents at a younger or older age? What changed to alter the perspective and attitude of the children and/or the parents?

Teenage rebellion is common and almost justified in our culture, as shown through the media in movies and TV shows. Most parents see it as just another stage every child goes through. I know my mom did and she says to this day that she knows I didn’t mean any of what I said; it’s just something teenagers “go” through. I plan to interview at least three families with children to see if they all experienced this, if they expected it, and how each situation differs from one another.

Finally, I am interested in how the relationship between the parents’ and their parents affects how they treat their own children. When the kids have their own children when they grow up, the clearest example they have on how to treat them comes from their parents. I want to see if there are generational patterns affecting the actions of the parents.