Why Can't Treat Children as Individuals

We can't treat children as individuals because they are small and not matured enough to take important decisions. Children only think of fun, play, chocolates and sleep. So we can't treat them as Grown up Individuals. Happy New Year.

Children need rules and discipline. Period. You can't let children run a muck all day. They will become rude, disrespectful towards others and the law. They would have trouble holding down a job and maintain friends because they would feel like they rule the world and can do whatever they want. My idea of raising children "freely" is to let them chose what clothes to wear that day or between apple and orange juice!

Treat them as individuals, but make sure you also teach them HOW to be individuals. Teach them how to make decisions by letting them pick out their own clothes each morning. Things like that. I have noticed that in recent years...parents are neglecting the kids nad the kids are raising them selves. Just look at the McDonald Happy Meal issue here recently. THe parents take the kids to the fast food, buy them the Happy Meal, allow them to eat it and then get mad and sue McDonalds for making their kids fat! Who's the parent here? One lady said that if her kids ask for McD's and she doesn't stop...they will throw such tantrums that she just can't handle it anymore so she takes them. Again, who's the parent here? THose kids have been taught that to get what they want...throw a tantrum and they will get what they want. If Mom hadn't taught them all about Happy Meals and taken them there so often that they got used to it, they wouldn't have reason to throw the tantrum. And if Mom would just tell them "go to your room and throw your tantrum" or "stop the tantrum or no TV, no cell phone and no video games" and stick to it all...the kids wouldn't be running the show. Who's the parent? Seems in most cases I have seen...the kid is boss! Why? Cause they were given individuality without the responsibility to go along with it.

This angers me also. So many people assume children are stupid, and act as though the feelings and thoughts of a child do not matter. If children are treated with respect, their behaviour is much improved, and parents and teachers will find that much of the power struggles disappear. Power stuggles are exactly that: a child feels that they have no power or choice so they rebel against anything that can be rebelled against. Give the child some age-appropriate power, (like respecting his thoughts and feelings and taking them into account) and power stuggles lessen.