What are the qualities of the ideal parent?
published: Sunday | May 11, 2003
Parents usually have the last say in matters of parenting although they do not at all times "get it right".
So in this month that is dedicated to the child Outlook decided to turn the tables a bit. We asked some not-so-small children and one real tiny-tot about the qualities they thought made the ideal parent.
We got some interesting and diverse responses. Some students had the answer on the tip of their tongues while others thought it through carefully first. (The fact that we were taking their pictures didn't help). Some responses were long, others much shorter, but ALL were from the heart. And we must point out, the boys were actually less shy to give their responses. Who says our boys don't like to speak up?
Roaming around Half-Way-Tree last week, we spoke to students from six schools; five high schools and one preparatory school.
Manique Thompson, 17, Priory High: "They should think about the right way and train the child in the way that he should go and he will not depart from it. If they train the child well, he will grow well but if they train the child in a negative way, they will be negative."
Ranaldo Harrison, 9, Suthermere Preparatory:
"The ideal parent should take care of me and give me what I want."
Vennessa Davis, 15, Merl Grove High: "The ideal parent should be caring, very responsible and loving."
Khadive Thomas, 16, Merl Grove High:
"They should be like my mother. She would do anything for me. She goes to work sometimes without lunch just so that I can have lunch money and she is a father and mother in one."
Sasha-Gaye Wright, 16, Merl Grove High
: "The thing that makes an ideal parent is responsibility. This responsibility should be to his or her children to make them better."
