Parental Caregiving Strategies and Personality Development of Children (5-12 Years): The Case of Selected Regions in Cameroon
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47672/ajp.1272Keywords:
Parental caregiving strategies, personality development, human flourishingAbstract
Purpose: There seems to be a lot of challenges and crisis all over the world that is disturbing world peace. So therefore, almost every human being is going about looking for different ways to be happy and be at peace. Human flourishing achieves determinacy and reality only through a joint engagement of the individual's unique talents, potentialities, and circumstances with generic goods and virtues. Encyclopedia of applied Ethics 2nd Edition (2012). Flourishing is when people experience positive emotions, positive psychological functioning and positive social functioning, most of the time, "˜living within an optimal range of human functioning.' Fredrickson (2005). This Study seeks to identify the ways through which parents care for their children and how it influences their personality development. It is believed that the more a person is shown love, the more he will feel secured and be happy thus develop a positive personality. Parental caregiving varies across cultures and beyond the survival of children, parents are fundamentally invested in their children's education and socialization as well as other social actors.
Methodology: This study made use of the survey research design and the method of data collection was through observation and the use of interviews and focus group discussions. A total of 220 children were randomly sampled drawn from different regions of Cameroon using 6 caregiving practices such as taking children out of the home, listening to children, spending time with them, buying them gifts, playing games and telling them stories and providing basic needs.
Findings: The findings of this study reveal that, the family background, social influence, socio-economic status, peaceful environment free from wars, stable marriage live of parents, providing for children's basic needs within their means and parents creating time for children out of their busy schedules will go a long way to bring out a positive personality in their children. Also, the findings indicates that other avenues and actors within the environment may provide the opportunity to promote the development of positive personality traits such as N.G.Os, the government and stake holders, parents themselves, extended family and the school community.
Recommendation: More broadly, the current results support continued efforts to incorporate personality constructs into developmental research involving children and adolescents. The findings of this study will be significant to Parents, children, and educators and will guide them on best ways to develop children's personality thus contributing to human flourishing.
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