Fear-based parenting is a common practice across the world, especially in Asian countries. However, if you are a child who is under the care of a parent or a parent is forcing your child to do this, this article is a must-read. In this blog, you will learn how fear-based parenting affects children, including its pros and cons. You will also learn what is better than this method, which will make your child a better and happier human being.
What is fear parenting?
“ Fear-based parenting is a way for parents to show love through strict boundaries and harsh punishments .”
Parenting based on fear
The world is a dangerous place with many bad people (kidnappers, gangsters, critics, etc.). With luxembourg mobile database the rise of the Internet, more and more websites rate adult content or addictive games. Therefore, some parents resort to fear-based parenting. Usually, children are warned that if they break the rules, strict punishments await them.
In fear-based parents, they control their children through emotional manipulation, not by justifying why it's wrong to do so. It's not the best parenting style, and it works, but it comes at a very high cost.
What are some examples of punishment through fear?
We all faced fear punishment as children, and it varied from situation to situation, but the most common example is:
Being grounded
Will be beaten (common in Asian cultures)
Anger, dissatisfaction and criticism from parents
Things that were taken include toys, games, books, diaries, food, etc.
Unrealistic fears, such as if you listen to a song, God will put melted glass in your ears.
Why do some parents use fear-based parenting?
The first and most important factor why parents use fear-based parenting is because fear is the second biggest emotion in humans after pain. Even most wise men sometimes make wrong decisions because of fear.
Since children cannot understand reason at a young age but know pain, fear has always been a good motivator. When we look at it from the parents' point of view, it is the right way because they love their children very much and just want to save them from the dangers of the world such as;
Downsizing Parenting Out of Fear
Around the world, approximately 8 million children go missing every year.
Nearly 500 children die in road accidents every day.
Every other page on the Internet is full of adult content.
In 2021, an estimated 1.91 million children dropped out of high school.
1 in 9 girls and 1 in 20 boys experience child sexual abuse before the age of 18.
Social media addiction shapes people's personalities and affects physical relationships.
60% of children may be addicted to screens, which may cause problems such as insomnia, lack of concentration in school, anger and anxiety, poor health, lack of social skills, vision problems, loneliness, etc.
In 2023, a survey found that one in every 100 middle school students had used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. The situation worsens in high schools, with one in 10 kids using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days.
The list goes on and on and on about things that parents fear might happen to their children, so they opt for Authoratorin (fear-based) parenting to help save their little rosebuds. However, some parents are not good people and just beat their kids for fun.