Why Strict Parents are the Best Parents

Many successful people credit their academic and socioeconomic success to strict and loving parents. My definition of a strict parent is a parent who applies clear and consistent rules for their children to follow in order for them to reach their highest human potential. They provide consistent discipline for their children and look out for their children's future. Furthermore they have the best interests of their children as their primary concern. They also have clear demarcations as to the role of parents and children.

Strict parents believe in taking time to talk and teach their children. They believe that they are the primary educators, not teachers, television, and other siblings. They assert that parenting is a role to be taken seriously.

Strict parents follow their own drummers. They do not care how other parents raise their children. Their mantra is," I do not care how Mr. Jones raises his child, this is my house and I will raise you the proper way." They maintain that children need consistent discipline in order for them to grow into productive adults. They do not mind that sometimes their children do not like them or even hate them because of the rules that are applied. They contend that they are not parents to be liked by their children but for their children to become successful adults.

Strict parents censor the amount of time their children watch television or engage in superfluous activities as they believe that these activities are not as important as intellectual activities. A former co-worker of mine had parents who did not permit her as a child to participate in Halloween parties because they believed those activities to be unintellectual. Her parents also frowned on her socializing with other children which they deemed a waste of time. When she came home from school, she had to study her lessons and afterwards, she had to read a total of 2 books per week. She is now a highly successful lawyer.

As a child and teenager, her parents forbade her to play in the streets or to go to the movies with friends unless an adult was present. Intellectual activities was emphasized in her home. Reading was stressed in her home. Her parents had clear rules and regulations. She was not allowed to date while she lived in her parents' domicile. Her parents believed that teenage dating led to teenage pregnancy which was prevalent in the neighborhood they lived in.

During my former co-worker's teenage years, her parents kept her preoccupied by assigning her 4 books per week to read and writing book reports on those books. Her parents even prohibited her from participating in extracurricular actitivities in high school and college because they believed that those activities were superfluous.

Strict parents are strong and loving parents as they put their children's interests foremost. They would sacrifice anything for their children's betterment and success. Many adult children of strict parents appreciate the guidance and supervision they received while living under their parents' roof. It is better to have a strict parent than a permissive parent.

I had a friend who had permissive parents who who him do whatever he wanted to do. He seldom attended school. He dated at thirteen, and subsequently dropped out of school. His mother stated that since he was a teenager, he was adult enough to do anything he wanted to do. He subsequently ended up living in poverty with a series of dead end jobs and his two daughter did not fare any better, both having children out of wedlock as very young teens.

Children often complain about having strict parents but strict parents offer clear guidelines for them to adhere to. The main goals of strict parents are to have highly successful children who are happy with their lives. Strict parents want their children's lives to be materially, educationally, and economically better than their lives have been.

My beloved father was strict and loving. Although my mother was strict, she was not as strict as my father was. He frowned upon socialization and extracurricular activities. They believed that intellectual pursuits were paramount and buit character. He further asserted that I should read three books weekly and magazines such as Time and Newsweek. He contended that fashion magazines were an utter waste of time.

My father forbade me to socialize with other children as his contention was that I could not learn from other children. He kept my head buried in books, newspapers, and other hobbies. I was not allowed to go to parties and to date while I was attending high school and college. Education was foremost in my father's mind.

I was teased by my friends and relatives about having a strict father. However, I am very thankful for this. As a result of my father's guidance, I was kept on the straight and narrow path. I was not a delinquent, did not have a teenage pregnancy, and I was exposed to varied cultural activities such as museums, plays, and dancing school. As a result of my childrearing, I am very appreciative of the better things of life and have no patience for the mundane aspects of life.

If a child has strict parents, he/she is surely blessed. Strict parents care and love their children and only want the very best for them. Furthermore, a child knows why he/she stands with a strict parent. Strict parents are not afraid to be parents and the world need more strict parents.