Personal Reflection: Your Parent-Child Relationship
Prepare a paper on your own parent-child
relationship, reflecting on the nature of the relationship throughout your lifespan. If
you did not have a parent-child relationship for much or all your childhood but had
a relationship with a caregiver such as a grandparent, write about that relationship.
The assignment aims to demonstrate your understanding of the concepts taught and
the ability to apply them in an analysis of a parent-child relationship. Choose
concepts that you’ve not used in previous assignments or are using in a different
context.
Instructions:
1. Reflect on your parent-child relationship at each stage of your development
using Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development listed below: (Note: Parent
includes the adult(s) who raised you. It could be different people at different
stages.)
Parent-child relation Due by Apr 26
Personal Reflection: Your Parent-Child Relationship
Prepare a maximum of 4 typed, double-spaced pages on your own parent-child
relationship, reflecting on the nature of the relationship throughout your lifespan. If
you did not have a parent-child relationship for much or all your childhood but had
a relationship with a caregiver such as a grandparent, write about that relationship.
The assignment aims to demonstrate your understanding of the concepts taught and
the ability to apply them in an analysis of a parent-child relationship. Choose
concepts that you’ve not used in previous assignments or are using in a different
context.
Instructions:
1. Reflect on your parent-child relationship at each stage of your development
using Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development listed below: (Note: Parent
includes the adult(s) who raised you. It could be different people at different
stages.)
•
•
•
Industry vs Inferiority (school-age, 5-12 years old)
Identity vs Role Confusion (adolescence)
Intimacy vs Isolation (young adult) or Generativity vs Stagnation (early
parenting)
•
2. Choose 2 concepts we’ve studied this semester and apply them to your
relationship at each of the 3 stages for a total of 6 concepts. Choose concepts
you’ve not used in previous papers or have not used in the same way you
intend to use them in this assignment. Note: Some concepts may have
parts to them, such as Identity Development which is used in the
example below. Moratorium and Foreclosure cannot be counted
separately because they are related to each other. Erikson’s stages may
suggest a sequence, but each stage is distinct from the others and can be
counted separately.
•
3. The paper should begin with an opening paragraph introducing your
family. Each stage should be addressed in separate paragraphs using the
concepts you’ve chosen. Some stages or concepts may need more than one
paragraph for an adequate discussion.
•
4. Give a specific example(s) of your relationship to support the link you’ve
made to a concept. Find an action, expectation, or a remembered
conversation that illustrates the concept. Describe your example and explain
how it illustrates the concept you selected.
•
5. The final paragraph should provide a reflection on the insight you may
have gained about yourself, your parents, or your relationship with your
parents in the reflections you’ve done in this course.
•
Example:
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This example covers the adolescent stage with 2 concepts, Identity
Formation and Parenting Style Effects on Identity Formation.
For example, I might write the following link. “According to Erikson, adolescence
is the time of Identity Formation, answering the questions, ‘Who am I?” In Chapter
9, Heath discusses two parts of identity formation, moratorium and foreclosure.
The moratorium is the time adolescents take to explore various issues related to
identity, particularly the issue of choosing a career. Identity foreclosure happens
when parents push a child towards a particular career or life choice or when the
child makes a choice early before they’ve learned about other options. Parenting
Style has a direct effect on an adolescent’s identity formation. Authoritative parents
support a moratorium and give their teens time and freedom to decide on a career
choice. Foreclosure stops the exploration. Traditional and Authoritarian parenting
styles may use foreclosure to control their child’s choices.
My mother’s Parenting Style was Traditional, particularly when it came to a
women’s role in society. I began college in a period of moratorium, figuring out
what I wanted to do with my life. My mother focused on my being a mother and
having a family. My interest in Oceanography was not supported because of the
long hours of research and travel involved and the effect that could have on a
future family. Although my interests changed several times during my early adult
years, she chose to not help me after my first year in college. I would describe her
parenting style as Traditional. She had firm ideas about my career and strong ideas
about politics and religion. The Traditional parent, like Authoritative parents, uses
reasoning and conversations with their adolescents to guide their development.
Sometimes they use consequences that can be extreme such as cutting off funds for
tuition. Her decision could have made me foreclose on my identity search. Instead,
it motivated me to move out and support myself through college. Our relationship
was hurt for a while, but she grew to be pleased with my choices and I was pleased
to see her change as well.
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