Types Of Parenting Styles
According to research, three styles have been found to be associated with different behaviour and the personality traits of children. These are the permissive, authoritarian and democratic styles. The three parenting styles may not be so distinct in actual practice. Most parents have a dominant style of parenting that they use throughout their child' s life, but circumstances and relationship dynamics frequently produce a mix of styles.

1) Permissive Parent
Permissive parents typically spend a lot of time communicating, negotiating and reasoning with their children. Their relationship with their children is warm and accepting. Their focus is on building up their children's self-esteem. Children of permissive parents areencouraged to think for themselves, overcome inhibitions, and to embrace individuality rather than conformity. Permissive parents set few rules, and may not establish consistent and clear limits on behaviour. Permissive parents often take a 'hands-off' approach, allowing children to learn from the consequences of their actions. Misbehaviour is usually not addressed, and few demands are made on children for mature independent behaviour.

2) Authoritarian Parent
Authoritarian parents use control to teach right from wrong, and are quick to react to discipline problems. The emphasis is on 'teaching respect' and 'providing structure.'Children are discouraged from negotiating with or questioning their parents' decisions. Authoritarian parents are usually quite strict. They expect their children to behave according to an unbending set of rules, and any misbehaviour tends to warrant harsh and punitive measures. Authoritarian parents may impose many rules, but these are often not explained clearly. An authoritarian parent values obedience, and seldom is the child's wishes or opinions listened to.

3) Democratic Parent
Democratic parents allow their children quite a bit of freedom, but at the same time, they set clear behavioural standards. They impose simple rules and reasonable consequences for breaking the rules. These parents will take time to discuss with their children the reasons for these rules. Learning to take responsibility is a high priority. Children are given plenty of practice in making choices, and are guided to see the consequences of these. Misbehaviour is handled with an appropriate 'punishment' Ð children are encouraged to find alternative and acceptable ways to meet their desires. Democratic parents usually have warm relationships with their children and are sensitive to their child's needs and views. They are quick to praise their children's achievements, and are clear in their expectations of them.

The Impact Of  Parenting Styles
Each style has inherent strengths and weaknesses, but many experts agree that the measured, patient but firm approach taken by parents who use the democratic approach produces the happiest and most well-adjusted children. Children of democratic parents have been found to be responsible, self-reliant and resilient to stress. They are usually popular with their peers, and have good social skills and confidence. They also tend to be independent, set their own standards, and are achievement-orientated. Children in democratic families learn that their opinions are important.

As they are allowed to make minor mistakes when they are young, these children are able to make better decisions as they mature. Authoritarian parents tend to have children who are obedient, tidy and passive. However, they may not possess the self-esteem and self-control of peers brought up by democratic parents. As they are expected to obey unquestioningly, they may not learn to think for themselves or to make good decisions.

Authoritarian parents typically do not have close relationships with their children. Children whose parents are authoritarian do not receive praise often, and are often afraid of their parents. As they grow older, they may be motivated to do things for reward or punishment, rather than for 'right' or 'wrong' reasons.

Children of permissive parents are usually creative and happy, but may not cope well with stress. These children tend to get angry if they do not get their own way, and may be selfish, aggressive and domineering when interacting with peers. Aggressive patterns become ingrained when children are not guided to find acceptable ways to get desires met. Without clear limits, children of permissive parents may become confused, feel insecure and can make poor choices.

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The science of brain development tells us that our child's brain develops incredibly in the early stage of life. We can do something to optimise this.

Even before your child is born, his organs have been developed. But his brain is one of the first to develop. At birth, your baby's brain is remarkably almost developed as most of its billions of neurons are not yet fully connected in networks. Many parts of a child's brain become fully mature during adolescence and his environment plays a major role in brain development.

The BrainThe cerebrum (cerebral cortex) is the largest part of the human brain. It is divided into four sections, called "lobes", which are associated with higher brain function like thought and action: the temporal lobe, frontal lobe, parietal lobe, and occipital lobe. The temporal lobe is associated with recognition and perception of speech, memory, and auditory stimuli. The frontal lobe is associated with motor skills; this section becomes more active with the development of speech .

The parietal lobe is associated with orientation and recognition of space and perception of stimuli. Finally, the occipital lobe controls visual processingThese lobes keep on maturing throughout childhood, and neurons can continue to connect in network even into late adulthood.Buried within the cerebrum is the limbic system, which is accountable for unconscious behaviour. The brain stem controls such basic vital bodily functions as reflexes, breathing, blood pressure, and heartbeat. The thalamus has motor and sensory functions; it delivers signals to the cerebrum for processing. Although located in the brain, the hypothalamus gland is a part of the endocrine system, which controls a number of automatic body functions such as emotion and hunger.

The basal ganglia are responsible for voluntary movements like standing, sitting, or clapping.Environment and Brain DevelopmentMore and more studies are pointing to the environment as having a significant impact on a child's brain development.

For instance, if you talk to your child or read him stories, neurons will connect with the section of the brain responsible for language, essentially strengthening it. When your child is born, all the brain cells that he will ever possess, giving him the ability to develop several skills. But if the neurons are not connecting in network, the brain undergoes a pruning process, which does away with idle circuits.But there is good news. This natural pruning process enables other circuits to become efficient. In order for your child's brain to develop in many areas, you need to provide ample stimulation in such areas as spatial reasoning, speech, music, and physical activity.

You should stimulate your child in these areas as early as possible. Significant development occurs in your child's brain during his first year.Stimulating the BrainYou should ensure that your child's brain has enough stimulation for its proper development.

Here's what you can do:

1)  In first two months, stimulate his eyesight. Use mobiles and let your child see and act in response to your body language and facial expressions.

2) Talk to your child regularly. At this point, he's learning language though it will take him several months before he can completely talk.

2) Touch is very important. You can play gentle games with your baby, like gently bicycling his legs. As he gets older, your child will learn to respond to and play with simple toys. When he is ready, let him practice to grab a toy or something that you are holding. You can play with him peek-a-boo and other simple games that teach object permanence.

4) Maintain a high level of contact and communication with your child. Studies reveal that the higher the level of parent -child interaction the higher the child's IQ will be. Certainly genetic factors play an important role on your child's intelligence, but you cannot discount your importance in his brain development.

5) When your child reaches his sixth month, ensure that he has a lot of opportunities in building his own strength and in practicing how to crawl and walk.

6) Talk about your child. You might want to take a lot of pictures, make photo albums, and occasionally use the pictures when you read him bedtime stories. Talking about the past can be very stimulating to your child's memory. When he gets older, you should give him ample time in learning new information. In addition, you should make learning a very fun activity for him.- Make sure that he has a lot of interaction with his peers. You need to expose your child to many interesting situations, like trips to the mall, zoo, or the neighbourhood, as much as possible.

7) Give your child simple toys that are appropriate to his age and toys that target different skills: puzzles target spatial skills, while blocks focus on building both fine motor skills and spatial skills.

What to Avoid

Remember, there are also stimulations that are harmful to your child's brain development. Thus you should be very careful when you interact with your child. You should also be careful in choosing a caregiver for your child. Exposure to violence, abuse, or abuse at a very young age can have a significant impact on the wirings in his brain.

Basically, a stressful and difficult environment may result in the overproduction of cortisol to the body of a young child. If constantly produced, cortisol will cause the underdevelopment of the child's brain, which usually results in a smaller than usual cerebral cortex.

Additionally, cortisol can also significantly affect the limbic system, causing the child to have difficulties in controlling emotions well. Lack of emotional control can lead result in behavioural problems. Furthermore, a very high stress level and the overproduction of cortisol can also lead to memory problems.

In general, as a parent , provide your child enough stimulating activities, while ensuring that he is not stressed out. Exposing your child to healthy situation promotes optimal brain development, while exposing him to stressful conditions hinders the development. You must realize that you can control your child's learning experiences early in his life. Take this opportunity. Later in life, your child will have an easier time with cognitive tasks, thanks to the proper stimulation of his brain.

The typical meaning of "bully", as we are familiar of it, is someone who enjoys beating up, picking on, and exhorting others.
 
Well, what we do not know is that bullying not only pertains to physical abuse or threat or torment.Sadly, a child can be emotionally abused, and nobody would even know that he is suffering from it.

Unlike physical abuse, emotional abuse does not leave evidence or manifestations, like scars or bruises. So ,it is less seen or noticed by adults.And just like physical abuse, emotional  abuse wears down self-esteem and breaks the child's confidence.

It may even tear his heart, leading to the child losing trust in his own self.And of course, when a child is hurt, this can leave a deep scar that does not heal fast, and could even last a lifetime.One way of bullying is verbal abuse, which is common to young children. A sharp word cuts deeper and damages the child's sensitive young heart.

It is common for children to tease for fun, but intended and mean verbal statements aimed at a specific person are really hurtful.Children perceived as "losers" are always bullied by these kids. They spread rumors about them, ridicule them, and even push them aside.

They are always the center of negative comments and laughter.Unfortunately, anyone who associates with the "loser" will also be dubbed a loser, thus, becoming one of the targets, just like the victim. So, some children have the tendency to get bullied, even if they were not the original victims.The Bully and the BulliedA person bullies others because he wants to gain power or authority over them.

However, it is not normal behavior or a part of a normal childhood because the act has negative effects in their own lives.Who are most likely to be bullied? Those are the children who are physically handicapped, new in town or school, and who are perceived as strange in some way. But the reality is, there really is no specific reason why some are being bullied.

Those who bully others are insecure because they want to be on top and want to gain headship over the others, so they pick on the weak ones who can't defend themselves.To deal with his own problems, or maybe to feel more significant, famous, or in charge, a bully torments others.

There are bullies who are somewhat reluctant in bullying others, but because of the popularity of the act and peer pressure as well, they go with the flow to be accepted. Having a great fear also contributes in molding these indisposed tormentors, for they are scared of being one of the victims if they do not succumb to the act of bullying.Recognizing Victims

Those who are bullied usually hide this from their parents and they usually prefer to deal with the problem alone.You can see loneliness, depression, fright, isolation, and the feeling of being trapped. Most children are afraid of going to school because they perceive it as a place where a lot of bullies are at.

You can identify an emotionally bullied child by these guidelines:

-Uses illnesses as excuses, like stomach ache or headache, to be absent from schoolShows bedwetting behavior

-Has trouble sleeping

-Has difficulty in doing homework or studying

-Cannot concentrate

-Looks lethargic, withdrawn, and depressed

-Becomes anxious and irritable

-Shuns from social gatherings that involve mingling with fellow kids


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If you are selling children products on ebay, you may want to consider posting questions and answering them yourselves on the Q&A -Ask the Parents page at www.child-central.com

Child-Central.com allows parents to ask questions about their child's development as well as other common parenting issues. Its a place where parents help parents. You may already be aware that Yahoo has got their own answers.yahoo.com and google groups no longer accepts new members in their answers.google.com now. Child-Central's "Ask The Parents" adopts the niche marketing concept to reach out the parents but with a much high quality answers compared with yahoo.com.

How you can market your products?
Its important NEVER to blatantly market your children products on ANY forums or web2.0 sites (e.g blogs, etc....). Our platform is not an exception to this rule. Simply ask a questions that you may think MOST parents would want to find out and create html links when you ask the questions (somethings like "i saw this product at ________ and i like to ask if anyone...blah..blah..."). Simple?
You can also answer your own questions to create curiosity from other visitors....remember that the rule is to value add to the parenting advice community and then presell them with your children related products.

For more info, see below link:

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