This is in response to Dr. Onkar Ghate’s column on Wednesday, Aug. 23, “Say no to self-esteem pushers” that blamed educators for a lack of self-esteem in their students. No way! It is time that parents accept responsibility for what they do - and do not do - with and for their children.

The greatest brain development occurs within the first three to five years of life. At birth, a baby has over 100 billion brain cells, but if the brain is not stimulated properly during those early years, the cells will not form connections (synapses) that are needed for the child’s healthy emotional and mental development.

These early years are just as important in building positive self-esteem. Every interaction that parents have with their children will either enhance or decrease their perception of themselves. In addition to providing the basic necessities, parents must also: provide a nurturing environment, give unconditional love to their children, appropriately praise their children for their accomplishments as they grow and develop, and firmly, yet lovingly, enforce logical consequences for negative behavior. When parents do this, then children will learn to respect and value themselves.

Educators can have an influence on a child, but rarely are they the primary determinant of a child’s sense of worth. Blaming educators for a child’s lack of self-esteem is as absurd as blaming them for a child’s early brain development, which occurs before that child ever sets foot in a classroom!

Parenting is the hardest job that anyone could ever have, and it DOES NOT come naturally. Since we are not born knowing every thing we need to know about raising children, we need to learn how to be effective caregivers. We learn many of these skills from our own parents, by our experiences, through observations of other parents and caregivers, by reading, attending parenting classes, etc…

Source: Hernando Today, FL
http://www.hernandotoday.com/letters/MGBS7G6757F.html